


Secret Agents

by Avercurus (Onxy_Black)



Series: Inverse colours [2]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: Angst, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Dark, Established Relationship, F/F, Gen, Horror, I'm hyped, Implied Relationships, Kamabo, Mystery, Related to Fresh Start, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Sorry Not Sorry, Suspense, This story is bloody complicated, Typical day in the office, blood is ink, but i like it, but not really, the author is depressed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-01-30 23:33:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 26,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21436510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onxy_Black/pseuds/Avercurus
Summary: There existed the New Squidbeak Splatoon, to defend the surface.But what about those in the depths, the octolings? The Octoling Revolutionary Army, made up of freed octolings after the Calamari Inkalation, to free their fellow octolings into the light.Of course, it wasn't going to be all that easy, forces of evil were around every turn, be it up or down.Who can you trust? Who can you tell... your secret identity?---This work is set to be in the same universe as 'Fresh Start', though there's isn't going to be much, or any, link between the two stories. This work begins before 'Fresh Start', though would pass it along the way.Also, its going to be dark, really dark.Updates once every week, or earlier. Breaks between Acts (see notes).Currently on break
Relationships: Agent 3 & Agent 8 (Splatoon), Agent 3/Agent 8 (Splatoon), Original Character(s) & Original Character(s)
Series: Inverse colours [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1540054
Comments: 35
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! This is an expansion to my 'Inverse Colours' universe, totally not related to any other work I have but 'Fresh Start'. Though, this work begins before 'Fresh Start', and shouldn't have much relation to the events of that work. I mean, that was ultimately a angst/fluff work, while this is going to have more 'meat' and 'weight'. World-building too, hopefully.
> 
> Also, do note this is going to be my first time I'm writing a fic with death involved. Yes, characters would die. I don't think I'm going to go over the top with death, much like my dark moments in my other works, I only would use this card when necessary for the plot.
> 
> Right, unto the story itself. This is set to be rather long (at least 10+ chapters I think), and I split them up into 'Acts'. Each Act would have a certain theme, and can be treated as chapters, its just that I didn't want just one super long chapter. (So for the first time my chapters aren't titled, the Acts are titled instead.) And between every Act, there maybe a short break as I begin the next phrase of the story. Not long, maybe a week at most, but I plan to post weekly anyways, so yea.
> 
> Right, but with that, I welcome you again to this work, I'm actually quite hyped for it! I hope everysquid would enjoy the ride!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1: A life of secrets.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

It was dark, much like everywhere else.

Once, this street was lit bright, gears and machinery running around the area, every road and sidewalk bustling with activities.

This whole area was once an industrial hub, alive with workers, guards, and the occasional commander.

Though now, it was dead. Everything was dead, dark and silent.

And in the gloom and darkness, a figure moved.

She moved slowly and stealthily, watching her every step and movement to ensure she wasn't spotted.

She breathed shallowly, controlling every inhale and exhale as she crept around the area, her eyes darting around at every nook and carny.

Then a floodlight swept by, filling the entire area with bright unforgiving light.

The figure gave a small yelp, before darting into the nearest corner she could find, hastily covering herself with whatever debris and trash that was lying around.

The floodlights were soon accompanied by a steady rumble, the rumble of an engine.

Under her makeshift cover, the figure shivered, and desperately tried to keep herself still.

She wanted to close her eyes, and pretend no one could see her, pretend that everything would be fine. But she didn't.

_No. She needed to look. At the very least, if there was a single scrap of intel she could deliver from the enemy... she would take it. _

_That and... if she was to be caught... she needed to ensure that her goods were never found no matter the cost. _

So she looked, watched from the light as figures emerged, and began walking towards her.

They were still partially obscured by the blinding light, but she knew who they were; _There were only so many people down here. _

_Octolings, just like herself, except they were still brainwashed. _

_No, scratch that, they were worse than brainwashed. She didn't know what was wrong with them, but these octolings were all rather strange. _

They looked different, all the wrong colours, black and sickly teal green instead of the normal octolings' complexion.

They were also different in their movements, emotionless, and not reacting to pain or attacks at all.

Almost as if they had an upgraded version of brainwashing.

_Three regulars... and an elite...dammit._ The girl in hiding clenched her beak, ch_ances of her discovery were looking pretty high._

Slowly, she began inching her hand to her torso.

The octolings were about 50 meters away, and haven't spotted her yet, though they were combing the alleyway as they walked ever so closer.

Her hand found the slight budge around her waist where the goods were kept.

_40 meters now, they still haven't spotted her. _

She fingers groped around the package, eventually finding a switch accessible from the bottom of her combat suit.

_30 meters... They would find her soon, judging from the way they were kicking at all the trash or debris along the streets. _

_She needed to do it, there was no other way. _

She closed her eyes, as she prepared herself.

Her fingers grasped the switch gently.

It was a simple explosive, enough to destroy the package of information that couldn't fall into enemy hands, and enough to blow a hole through her gut and prevent her capture and interrogation.

"..." Tears leaked from her closed eyes, as the figure sobbed silently.

_No, no. She didn't want to die, not after everything she survived... _

Faces flashed through her mind; Friends, comrades, loved ones.

She gave a sad smile, as she gave a final goodbye to them all.

"Sorry... I failed," The girl whispered softly, before she flicked the switch.

"..." _What...?_

_No. No. _

Her eyes snapped open, and she desperately tried to flick the switch back and forth again.

_No. No. _

_The explosive wasn't working, there was no way... _

"...! " Shouts echoed down the alleyway, and footfalls quickly sounded.

She panicked, eyes darting up to glimpse the octolings sprinting dead straight for her.

Her muscles tensed, before she exploded into motion, breaking cover and dashing away.

More shouts now came from behind her, but she ignored them, concentrating on running away.

She darted right, down the first sideway she saw, out of the light and into the darkness.

Right, left, right, right again...

She rushed through the maze of corridors, desperate to lose her pursuers.

The shouts were getting softer, and more spread out.

She gritted her beak in a grim smile, as she took a left, then jumped into a corner, before quickly disguising her position again.

_Dare she hope...? _

The new alley she was in was silent once more, hidden by the cloak of darkness.

She panted silently, quickly getting her breath back, as she made herself as small as possible.

_Perhaps… just perhaps she still might be able to…_

A rustle of cloth, then a stab right through her chest.

"...!" She gasped in shock and pain, writhing as she body coiled reflectively in pain.

Another figure stood in front of her, and held the instrument of pain in their grip.

_It hurt, it hurt so much... _

She struggled weakly, but was rapidly losing strength.

The strike had pierced all 3 of her hearts and was fatal.

Her attacker crouched, digging the weapon deeper into her body.

Slowly, the aggressor reached up, and pulled back their hood.

"...?!?" The girl gave a weak cry, of fear and confusion as she saw the figure in the dim light.

She saw a pair of scorning red eyes, but not eyes of an octoling.

_No... The eyes of an... inkling... _

Then the girl knew no more, and her body dropped limp.

* * *

Claws tapped, clicking as they drummed against the table.

It was the only sound in the room, despite there being about five occupants in the room.

All but the source of the clicking shuffled nervously, huddled at one side of the room.

The clicking stopped, and the person responsible stood, and glared forwards.

"Where. Is. Operative Alpha?" The person hissed out their words, directing their gaze at the remaining four members of the room.

"... On... on her way, Madam!" One of them sounded, earning nothing but a withering gaze from the first speaker.

She opened her beak to speak again, but then the door opened, and entered an octoling.

Then again, they were all octolings, but this new entry was different.

She walked with a certain posse, carrying an air of strength and authority, yet looked nothing the part, being clothed in what seemed to be filthy dirty battle gear.

"... Operative Alpha. You are late," The first person known as Madam began icily, and the claws clicking against the table began once more.

"Work," The one called Operative Alpha replied curtly, before she added on, "Don't take it out on me. I'm pissed too."

Dropping into the only other chair in the room, Alpha stared down her contact in a silent challenge.

"..." Both parties met eye contact, and stayed there for a moment. Then the clicking stopped.

"... You're right, sorry," Madam acknowledged after a pause, and seated herself.

"Nonetheless... we got to address the issue now," She continued, and leaned back with a grimace.

"Operative Delta is dead," Alpha spoke simply, and as one the room cringed collectively.

"... Status unconfirmed," Madam stated after a slight pause, giving Alpha a look.

Operative Alpha returned the look, and leaned forwards, staring straight into the irises of Madam.

"Delta is dead. Saw her. What's left, at least." Alpha spoke in short sentences, face unreadable as she did.

A collective gasp was heard through the room, as both Alpha and Madam continued their silent stare down.

"Where were you?" Madam asked quietly, never breaking the gaze.

"As I said," Alpha replied, pausing for a bit before she continued, "Work."

"... Fine. What do you want to do next?" Madam sighed, and rubbed at her eyes, breaking the gaze.

"The surface. Squidbeak. Information." Alpha once more spoke in short words and phrases, leaning back now that she won her little victory.

"... You would trust the inklings?" Madam droned out, as she raised an eyebrow.

Alpha stood, as it seemed the air in the room chilled at once, sending the other occupants shivering as one.

"No. If nothing else, Delta was probably... nevermind. I'll investigate." Alpha announced, and made to leave the room without anymore ceremony.

She then paused at the door, and turned, while she reached into her armour.

Pulling, she retrieved an ink stained package, and dumped it unceremoniously on Madam's table.

"Delta's mission. Not sure if it's compromised," Alpha explained, gesturing towards the package.

Once satisfied, she turned and made to leave once more, yet paused again by the door for a moment.

"... Unable to retrieve body. Too dangerous," Alpha spoke, though for the first time it seemed like she wasn't just stating facts.

"... Delta was a good solider. She would be mourned.... and avenged," The amour clad octoling finished, before she exited the room, the door creaking as it closed behind her.

The room plunged once more into silence, as the occupants all turned their gaze to Madam.

"... " Said octoling was strangely quiet, as she continued starring at the door.

She set her beak in a thin line, _mourning would come later, now they had to work. _

_Alpha going to the surface would require all sorts of preparations, contact support, for one, would be an absolute nightmare. _

"Right then people, time to get to work. Logistics, communication, supplies. Give me a report and proposal in 3 hours," Madam said curtly, addressing those still in the room.

"Yes Madam!" As one, they acknowledged, and scrambled to action.

Madam looked on, as her mind pondered on the whole situation.

She found her thoughts falling on Operative Alpha, and she sighed.

_Alpha... was a handful plus extra. But she was their best operative, she was the Octoling Revolutionary Army's best operative. And now said operatives were minus one... _

Madam rubbed her temples, and began clicking her claws against the tabletop once more.

_Oh Codspeed, Alpha._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cod. What a beginning, huh?
> 
> If you didn't get it before, this work is really going to be quite mysterious and detective like. I mean, its called 'Secret agents'. But there's going to be action as well, or maybe even relationships, I don't know yet. But yea, I had a lot of fun writing this. erm, right, don't take that the wrong way, I meant writing the story for the plot, not the death portions.
> 
> So obviously we are going to kick our story off with the octolings, but I'll be introducing other 'Secret agents' along the line. For now there's just Operative Alpha. Buuuuuut remember this work is in the same universe as 'Fresh Start', sooooooo... heh.
> 
> 'Kazusan'
> 
> HAHAHAHA.
> 
> But well then, its quite a risk, starting off with totally original characters, but then again, that's pretty much what I did with 'Dark before the Dawn' as well. Actually, you could almost say this work is the 'Inverse Colours' version of 'Dark before the Dawn'!!.
> 
> As usual, feedback is loved and appreciated! I would reply to every comment when I can!
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1: A life of secrets.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thoughts.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

Operative Alpha left headquarters, which was in reality just an abandoned shop house scattered in yet another deserted neighbourhood.

Octo Canyon was now full of abandoned pockets of land, districts powered down from the loss of the many Zapfish that were stolen.

_Yes, she, and they all knew the Zapfish were stolen._

There weren't brainwashed, certainly not, every single one of their little organisation was a freed octoling.

The Octoling Revolutionary Army, or ORA, had been formed roughly three months after the Calamari Inkalation incident.

It was all rather mysterious, but from what Alpha understood, a pair of inklings had sung this song; 'Calamari Inkalation', that somehow managed to free a bunch of octolings from their brainwashing.

_Apparently, she was included. _

She, along with all the members of the ORA, really couldn't remember much of their past lives, so they mostly concentrated on the here and now, their ultimate objective to free all octolings from the brainwashing.

And for that they needed the song, they needed the two inklings to sing the song again.

For a while after her freedom she was lost, unsure of what to do now, then Madam appeared, and brought the ORA together.

The ORA was spilt into two portions, the Commanding section and the Operatives section. The Commanding section was led by Madam, and her staff of weaklings _(at least, in Alpha's eyes they were). _The Operative section reported to Madam, and each Operative was given a code name based on the sequence in which they joined.

_Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta... _

_But now Delta was gone. _

Alpha gashed her fangs, her thoughts halting with the name and face of the younger operative flashing through her mind as she made her way through the wasteland.

She didn't like to show emotion in front of the Commanding section, but she certainly did have feelings too.

Delta had been family, they were all in part family, being as small of an organisation as they were _(even those commanding section weaklings, yes, Alpha would fight to the death to protect them regardless)._

But back to Delta. Delta was the youngest of all the Operatives, and was considered the little sister among the three others.

Alpha paused in her walk, as thoughts of Delta filled her mind.

_In the gloom and the darkness, there, in the alley, she lay._

_Motionless, breathless, she lay, her body already beginning to deteriorate into ink. _

_Delta, dead. Gone, forever. _

_Oh, how she wanted to break down and cry, hug the lifeless body of her little sister and cradle her form. But she couldn't, she had to leave before she was compromised as well. _

Alpha hissed, before pulling back her fist and punching a wall, her fist exploding through the concrete.

_Beta and Gamma... would not take well to the news. She would have to trust Madam with that particular issue, for now... She had to contact the Squidbeak Splatoon. _

_Or rather... The New Squidbeak Splatoon, the NSS, whatever, she didn't care what they called themselves. _

_It had been around half a year into the formation of the ORA, when they were contacted by this NSS organisation, one formed by inklings for the purpose of safeguarding the peace on the surface. _

_This 'Craig Cuttlefish' somehow managed to catch wind of their operations, and had reached out to Madam for cohesion and cooperation between the two organisations._

Madam had straight up rejected him, the entire Commanding section didn't quite want to trust the inklings at all.

The Commanding section were made up of octolings formally holding similar appointments in the military, so perhaps they still had a strong stigma against the inklings.

But Alpha was a soldier, as were the rest of the Operatives, and while they were apprehensive of working with the inklings, they weren't totally against the idea.

For one, she had first-hand seen the battle power the NSS offered, back when she wasn't freed yet.

Alpha really couldn't remember much of her brainwashed days, but an instance of encountering an insanely strong inkling enemy had always stuck with her.

Everyone and everything were utterly decriminated, that inkling had singlehandedly defeated squads after squads of octolings without any issue.

She had been fortunate to survive, and had later learnt that that was a member of the NSS.

_And if these forces were willing to side with them in their fight... she would take it. _

_Especially now more than ever, they needed strength. They weren't strong enough. She wasn't strong enough. _

_She wasn't strong enough to protect Delta. _

So she needed help, help from the strongest member of the NSS.

Alpha took a step forwards, resuming her direction.

_To the surface then, time to find the strongest inkling; The one known as Agent 3. _

* * *

"Ahhhhh, this is the life...!" A relaxed sigh breathed through the plush room, as the occupant stretched on the bed.

"Wouldn't you agree, Onii-chan?" She flipped onto her back, before giving a grin to the other person in the room.

"... Please don't call me that... its... unsettling," Her addressee hissed back, crossing his arms and looking pointy away.

Shuffling came from the bed, as the girl plopped back unto the bed and began stretching again, letting out sighs of relaxation.

The male occupant snapped his head to the side, making sure his eyes were in the right place, namely the rather interesting wooden drawer now.

_One room. A single bed. A guy and a girl. Oh Cod, what was management thinking?!? _

He let out another soft hiss, as his head began thumbing in pain. _It was always like this, those at the top couldn't plan jack shit, giving nonsense orders and instructions. _

Orders that he followed to letter nonetheless, but it was frustrating. _Oh so maddening indeed. _

And now, now this. He was really just about a fish bone away from screwing everything and just walking away.

Here he was stuck with who appeared to be an insane girl for the next 3-5 days, to meet with some contact.

_Urgggg... Oh his head hurt. _

He sneaked a look at the girl _(he couldn't guess her age, though she looked pretty young)_ on the bed.

For her reputation, he expected a completely different conduct from her, _not... this childish behaviour._

_Maybe she really was young then, younger than him, at least. _

_Which made it all the more wrong that they were in the same damned room. _

_Management. Damn management. _

The Inkopolis military, while not having a real proper presence in everyday life, existed quietly by the side-lines, always ready to defend Inkopolis should any threat arise.

He was one of the special forces within the military, and his job scope included reconnaissance and termination of any threats to Inkopolis.

_Then the whole Great Zapfish disappearance happened, and they had nothing on the whole incident. _

_Apparently, they were supposed to leave everything to another even more secret division, led by a veteran of the Great Turf War himself. _

_So they did, and watched by the side-lines, trying to offer whatever support they could, like maintaining order of the public, ensuring people didn't panic, stopping crimes related to stealing power sources, the likes. _

_At the end of the whole fiasco, he, along with a few select members of the military had met with the division that solved everything, and it wasn't a division at all. _

_An elderly retired captain, and a single soldier. That was all. _

_Impossible,_ his mind screamed at that time, _how could a single inkling succeed against what they learnt to be hordes of enemy forces?_

The inkling was a female, a mere child, happy and carefree in the world.

Agent 3, and the same Agent 3 that now lay in bed, looking at him with a mischievous grin.

_Eh? _

_Oh shit!_ He had forgotten to look away, and was still staring at the girl on the bed.

"Ehhhh.... Onii-chan, wanna join me?" She spoke teasingly, as he rapidly snapped his gaze away, colours flooding across his cheeks.

"Heh. Come on... You're no fun, Onii-chan. Whatever, ha!" Agent 3 gave a short bark of laughter, before she pivoted her body and sprang off the bed.

"Time to work! Gotto scope out a meeting place and all, we must make Tako-san welcome here!" Three announced merrily, before she pumped out her fist towards him.

_Eh...? _

_What? _

"..." He observed the NSS agent for a moment, before realising she wanted a fist bump.

_Oh. Oh Cod, that was so old though. _

He reluctantly raised his fist then, and knocked his knuckles against hers to complete the fist bump.

"Wooo! Let's go! Oh, what do I call you BTW?" Three gave a whooshing sound as she raised her hand in a flourish, before she questioned him.

"Ah... My code name is Gold, so please do address me as that," Gold finally spoke for the first time, identifying himself.

"Ohhh...! That's so cool! Gōrudo-san, pleased to meet you!" Three chattered, and gave a grin and wave, one Gold returned half-heartedly, not even bothering to correct her.

_Really now, he wished this meeting would just be over with already. _

Just an hour with Agent 3 and he already felt like he lost half his brain cells.

_Oh Cod... And to imagine having the sleep in the same room for multiple nights in a row... _

Gold smiled weakly; _this was going to be a long mission._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meet the other members of my cast; Agent 3 and Gold! So that's the complete cast of characters, for the 'secret agents' portion, at least. There's definitely some supporting characters, like Madam, or Captain Cuttlefish that may play a role as well, but as far of main characters go, there's these 3! (well actually I'm unsure who's going to be the main focus, but I'm leaning towards either Three or Alpha (Sorry, Gold).
> 
> Well still, if your read my other work, 'Fresh Start', these 3 characters actually appeared there already, though its kinda still in the future of this fic. Buuuut yea. I did plan for these 3 characters way back, but never their full story yet, until now.
> 
> Annnnd in case you didn't catch it, I the 3 different groups naming sense are categorized. The NSS uses numbers (duh), the ORA uses the Greek alphabet, and the military uses metals (though that's kinda hard to tell, since there's only Gold). Just fun triva, ha.
> 
> Well then! Haha I had a swell of a time writing Agent 3 again (not kazasan this time, just Three), but yea. She's really what can be described as a 'joker', full of spunk and spirit and energy. As always, there's going to be a bunch of Japanese translations in Three's speech, since that's a thing.
> 
> Onii-chan is a cute way of calling one's brother.  
Gōrudo-san means Gold but with a person honorific (literally Gold).
> 
> And yea. Gold has it hard, huh? Haha, I always kinda need that one poor character to take the backlash. (Actually Gold is supposed to be the 'Inverse' version of Agent 0, though he and Three seem to share the same dynamic of bullied and bully as well. (Oh! And I only just realized this Three is a totally 'Inverse' version of the other Three as well, their personalities are just so different.) Heh, I think that's totally going to be theme from now on.
> 
> Ok, if you don't get any of that, its fine, its just me rambling.
> 
> As always, feedback is appreciated and loved!I would reply to every comment when I can!
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1: A life of secrets.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thoughts.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

_Today was a good day, the sun was shining, and birds were singing, ah, what a wonderful time to be alive!_

Three awoke around 11am to find her companion gone.

She had offered to share the bed, but for some reason her partner had refused with a passion.

_So poor Gold slept on the floor, poor poor Gold slept on the floor. No doubt he awoke to back aches and pain._

_Well, sucks to be him._

Three bounced up, and threw open the curtains, letting the sunlight flood into the room, bathing her in it's soft morning rays.

_Not quite morning, ok, but still._

_Ahhhh... It felt good._

Three was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of the door opening. She turned, and grinned in greeting to her roommate.

"Good morning Gōrudo-san! What a wonderful day!" Three chipped as she sang with dramatic hand actions.

"... Good morning, yes. Let's get to work," Gold replied simply, as he brushed past her.

_Eh. He was no fun at all._

_Ah, it must be because he slept on the floor now. Why not just share the bed? There was enough space of two..._

Three frowned slightly, as she tapped her lip, before she pushed the thoughts away.

_Whatever, time to work indeed. All for the meeting. Yes, the meeting!_

Three felt a smile creeping across her face.

She always enjoyed meeting new people, whoever or whatever they were.

_Even if they were an octoling._

_Nah._

_Especially since they were an octoling._

Three half-lidded her eyes, as she pondered on the upcoming meeting.

_An octoling, they were to meet an octoling and work together with them. The Captain had contacted these octolings long ago, and now they seemed willing to work together for good._

_That was good. It was good. It had to be good._

_If they were bad... Ah, well bad guys needed to be punished, now._

Three hummed, as she prepared for the day.

Her Heroshot was the first thing on the agenda.

* * *

It had been days since Alpha left headquarters.

Travelling through octarian territory was dangerous, but simple enough for her. Yet now, travelling to the surface was a totally different story.

For one, it was far away, not many routes being available to her. Those that existed, were either heavily guarded, or extremely sketchy in their abilities to bring one to the surface.

_For two... well whatever._ Alpha didn't care, she only processed one thing at a time.

_And now all she wanted was to get to the surface. _

_Apparently, Madam had made arrangements with the inklings, with Squidbeak, for her arrival. _

She was to meet Agent Three and another representative of the inkling military upon her arrival, and they would 'escort' her.

_Bah. Whatever, as long as they could fight for their cause, it was good enough. _

Madam had dispatched information to her on her communicator on a secure route by the inklings to access the surface.

Except it was secure on both ends, the octarians were aware of the existence of this pathway as well and guarded their end zealously.

So that was that. Either she try to break through _(which technically was possible, but she didn't want to draw attention to hers or the ORA battle prowess),_ or attempt another path to the surface.

The second option sounded better, though would take way longer than anticipated.

_Too bad for the inklings then, they would have to wait. _

* * *

_Three. Whole. Days. _

It had been three whole days past the meeting date, and that was factoring the longest time frame already.

Gold was rapidly nearing the end of his rope now, he had barely held on for his mission’s sake, but spending anymore time with the company of his partner was nigh impossible.

Gold blew out a shaky breath, as he sat on the toilet, the only real place of safety now.

He and Agent 3 were supposed to work in shifts, to prepare and await their contact at the site, though said contact haven't showed up yet.

After the second day, he made sure to be awake before Three came to wake him.

_No, he didn't need to relive the body slam which Three claimed was just a light touch to wake him up. _

He discovered the safety of the toilet on the third day, after he realized Three was perfectly capable of working beyond her supposed shift, and was WATCHING him as he worked.

And then, when he reacted due to the staring, she wanted to play.

_PLAY. While they were on an important mission, she wanted to play. That meant leaving their post unattended too. Worse of all, her version of play was equivalent to a match of turf War, which seemed mild, until he actually agreed to participate once. _

_Those 3 minutes were the absolute worst 3 minutes of his life. The NSS Agent apparently didn't know the meaning of holding back, and while he had been quite confident of his combat skills, she still tore him apart, on top of actually inking the turf as well. _

Gold took another breath, and blew out again, into cupped hands.

_Enough was enough. Agent 3 wasn't suited for this mission, she was pretty much compromising the whole damned thing anyways. _

He had contacted Captain Cuttlefish to voice these concerns, and requested a change of Agent, _after all, if there was an Agent 3, there had to be an Agent 1 and 2 as well, right?_

_Except his requests was rejected, something about the other two Agents being occupied, so that left him stuck with Three. _

_7 whole days, stuck with this insane girl. _

Gold closed his eyes, as he tried to get himself back under control. _He still had his mission to complete, no matter the cost. He couldn't allow something as petty as this get him down, no, he had to continue onwards._

_Orders were orders, no matter what. _

Gold stood, and exited the bathroom before he started getting second thoughts again.

_Three was there, of course Three was... Wait what. _

Three had her hands raised, and was smiling guilty at him.

There was an octoling right behind Three, and she pointed what he could only deduce to be a weapon straight at the Agent's head.

The octoling said something, before she began gesturing with her free hand.

The octoling pointed at himself, then Three, and himself again.

_It wasn't hard to understand. _

Gold cursed quietly, before he raised his hands above his head too, and made to join besides Three.

_Agent 3 messed up, that must be it. Somehow, she had messed up, and now they were in this situation. _

_Well, the somehow part was obvious, actually; Agent 3 was totally overrated as a successful agent, all she had was brute force, and no finesse or planning at all. _

_To trust her was a mistake in itself. What a joke. _

_And now, he was caught up in this mess as well, which was just wonderful. _

The octoling was saying something again, and made gestures with her weapon.

Then Agent 3 spoke back, in the strange language as well, shocking Gold, and the octoling as well, as both gave a start, snapping their attention to Agent 3.

Three smiled, and continued speaking, with the octoling then joining in soon after, demanding in her tone at Three.

Three kept her expression and tone level throughout, none of the playfulness shown the previous days visible at all.

The octoling started towards them, raising her weapon as she did.

In an instant, Agent 3 moved, jabbing her hand out and snapping the weapon away from the octoling's hand in a single strike.

The intruder gave a cry of shock, before she rapidly backpedalled and reached into her outfit for another weapon.

But Three was already there, Heroshot suddenly out and pointed straight in the face of the octoling. She pressed down, holding the octoling in place, even as she generated a splat bomb, and held it by her side casually.

"... Hmm. Sorry, Gōrudo-san, that you had to go through that. Wanted to ascertain Tako-san's motives here. But I assure you, I had it all under control," Agent Three smiled at him as she spoke, almost gently, all traces of the person he stayed with over the past few days completely gone.

Gold slowly lowered his hands, as he took in the situation.

"You see, Tako-san here was rather shy, and didn't want to show up, so I had to put on a little show now. Well, at least we had fun, right?" Three continued, as Gold mused on her statements.

_The octoling contact was nearby the entire time? How... how did Three even know? _

_Then everything was an act, a show to tempt the octoling into showing herself, to 'take advantage' of the situation? _

Gold blinked, deciding to file this information away for later, before he waved it off, indicating a silent query as to what they should do to the octoling now.

Three grinned, her fangs flashing, and for a moment Gold saw the real Agent 3.

"Now, we have a little chat."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me just say this. Writing Three's POV is insanely hard, like really hard. Writing her actions and character is fun, but when it comes to her thoughts, its really hard. That's cause she acts a certain way, but I had to ensure that she actually thought the way she should be as an agent of NSS, yet keeping the fun and joy in everything as well.
> 
> Right, but well, with this chapter, The 3 parties have finally met! That's the introduction done with, now we can finally get to some action! It's still Act 1, so yea.
> 
> Well then, nothing much more, I hope everysquid's is enjoying the work so far! As always, feedback is appreciated and loved! I would reply to every comment when I can!
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1: A life of secrets.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

'Pass on the message'; An age old game requiring players to pass on a whispered messaged down the line, eventually seeing how similar or different the final message was from the original.

The game often served to show just how important communication was, and that without that, people would often have misunderstandings among one another.

Now take away the whispering part, and have it become translations between two different languages instead.

"Who are you...?" Alpha began warily, eyes darting to and fro between Agent 3 on one end and Gold on the other.

The trio were now seated around the room, each of their respective weapons laid down at the sidelines, but all still within reach.

After a brief shuffle, they had come to a ceasefire, and more or less agreed to talk to out.

"Oh! She wants to know our names to be friends!" Three exclaimed, as she 'translated' for Gold.

"Really now... I find that hard to believe given she just tried to kill you..." Gold frowned as he replied, leaning back and crossing his arms.

His arms felt lighter than usual, missing the familiar weight of his dual hidden blades.

_He didn't like this feeling. _

"This is Gold! Don't worry about his looks, he's a real sweetie inside! Oh, and I'm Three!" Three turned her head and addressed Alpha, now in Octoling.

"How can I know to trust you two...?" Alpha began once more, cautiously.

She eyed the different instruments of trade now laid bare around the area.

She had her basic shooter, a couple of special cans, additional weapon parts such as a detachable scope and grip... as well as various odds and ends she used in her work.

_She felt naked without all of her gear inside her outfit. _

She looked, looked at the other two then.

_Agent Three had what seemed to be a single shooter type, a 'Heroshot', that's what she called it. _

_The other, known as Gold, was the one she was apprehensive about. He seemed to wield multiple types of hidden blades and throwing knifes, nothing as conventional as ink based weaponry within his arsenal. _

"She's sorry for that! But she wants to get along now! Let's all be friends!" Three, now in Inkling, addressed Gold.

"... Ah... Really? Well whatever, for now we need to work together, yes?" Gold mumbled his reply, raising an eyebrow.

_He didn't care about working with this octoling. That was what they were meant to do in first place, no? They should just follow their orders then. _

"Gold and myself would be more than happy to help you and your cause! Let's go save some octolings!" Three grinned at Alpha, as she now spoke in Octoling.

"... Agreed," Alpha nodded.

"She's glad to help!" Three exclaimed.

"Then we're good to go, wonderful," Gold concluded.

And the three members exchanged a nod, now bound with a common mission.

And thus, sometimes despite the misunderstandings due to communications error, the objective can still be met.

Agent Three grinned.

_Yet another job well done, now everyone were friends. _

_Let's have fun now, fellow agents. _

* * *

**3 weeks later.**

"WooHoo! Grats! Yet another successful job, and one step closer to unveiling THE GREAT MYSTERY!" Agent Three exclaimed, somehow capitalising her spoken words.

The trio were back in their makeshift base of operations, celebrating (well Three certainly was) their success on their latest mission.

"Please stop calling it that. We don't even know if it's anything at all..." Gold mumbled, as he began leafing through the next mission brief.

A brief that came immediately after they completed the current one.

_Really, now. Damn management. _

Alpha, as usual, was silent, as she began cleaning her weapon.

_They had just finished recovery of secret Octarian files dating back to before the 'Calamari Inkantation' incident, detailing relations between the octarians and a organisation known as 'DSM'._

_Said 'DSM' had already appeared in previous files beforehand, and was mainly this 'THE GREAT MYSTERY' that Agent Three kept going on about._

Alpha found it kind of cute that Three was able to make light of everything, and find the fun in her job, however dirty it may be.

She was envious.

_Down in the depths, they as Operatives had comradery and loyalty, but never this feeling of excitement and fun that Three managed to infuse into every action of hers. _

"Yo!! So what's next??" Three's voice distracted Alpha from her thoughts, as she watched the inkling tackle hug Gold and tried to peek at the next mission.

"... We are to investigate if there are any links between the Salmonids' spawning and our directive," Gold groaned out, as he got back up into a sitting position.

Alpha observed that in the beginning, he still tried dodging Three's tackles, though now he didn't, seemingly giving up hope in that area.

_Well, not that he had any hope either ways. Gold was a decent combatant, she would give him that, having seen how he moved in battle, but Agent Three was on a different level. _

She managed to tackle hug him mid-air as Gold tried to grapple to the ceiling once. That was the last time he ever tried running.

"... "Alpha found a small smile spreading across her features, surprising herself.

She had almost forgotten what actual joy felt like anymore, but seeing the antics of Three over these few weeks had really began to reawaken dead emotions within her.

_Three... Three had changed her, be it for better or worse. _

_Alpha didn't quite know the answer to that yet, nor did she know if she wanted to know... _

"... ools. Bloody fools. What kind of orders are that? They are so... vague...!" Speech broke Alpha out of her thoughts yet again.

_Gold seemed to be complaining about management, again. It seemed he did that alot, but always accomplished whatever management gave him anyways. _

At least, that was what Alpha understood. She had the rough basics of Inkling down by now, though more abstract terms were lost on her.

_Then again... Gold always complained, and complained about the same things, so she probably wasn't far from the mark._

"Come on! Let's have fun~ We can totally play some Salmon run! Tako-san, wanna play? Wanna play? Wanna play?" Three chattered, before turning her attention over and repeating her question towards Alpha in a mixture of Octarian and Inking.

Alpha couldn't help it.

She gave a little bark of laughter, before quickly covering her face with her hand, though it was still fairly obvious she was smiling beneath.

"... Yes, me will be glad too," She eventually replied, before her body tensed in surprise and shock as Three sprang forwards and tackle hugged her.

Alpha's instincts instantly screamed bloody murder, to remove this foreign threat from her vicinity.

_Perhaps a week or two ago, she would have, but now... now she seemed... fine with this. _

Slowly, she relaxed her muscles, and raised her hands, returning the hug awkwardly, kind of patting Three's back in random spots.

In the moment, she thought about it, realizing that she was fine with her new nickname of 'Tako-san' as well. In the beginning she had found it weird how Three seemed to have trouble addressing people properly, but now she seemed_... comfortable with Three calling her that._

_Though, she couldn't imagine anyone else calling her as 'Tako-san'... Certainly not. _

For a moment, Madam's face flashed across her mind, and she had to stop herself from gagging.

_Oh Cod no. Never, please never. _

"Hmm, forgive me for disturbing you two... but might I remind your we have a job to do...?" Once more, Gold's voice broke through her thoughts.

_That was the third time her self-musing been broken today. _

_And it was most peculiar, she never had self-musing down in the depths before, yet now was getting bothered about having her thoughts interrupted. _

_Well, whatever, third time today, huh... Three was a nice number, she could live with that. _

_But truly, Gold had a point. _

_Enough of dilly dallying, they had a job to do. _

She felt Three draw away, and some small part of her whined at the loss.

Then the yearning was gone, squashed by her other priorities.

_They had to work, work to discover all that was to be about the octarians, this 'DSM', and so much more. Now it seemed Salmonids were being added to the platter as well. _

_And past all that... she had her own investigation to conduct as well. _

In that instance, all at once Alpha felt reality's grip on her. Everything shattered, crumbled around her as her breathing stilled.

_That's right, she wasn't here for fun and games. _

Alpha's heard her heartbeats thumb in her ears.

_She... she had her own investigation as well to conduct. _

Her name, her name and face that haunted her for nights upon end came crashing back through her mind.

And again, Alpha was in that moment, back in the octarian alleys.

And again, the light was gone, she was in the darkness once more.

_Delta. _

_Dead. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Act 1: A life of secrets.
> 
> Yeap! That's it! I initially expected Act 1 to be about 5 chapters, but I guess I alr wrapped everything up, so that's that. Whew! what a beginning! Thanks for all the support so far.
> 
> Well, with Act 1 finished, I'm going on a break, about a week (or even two, :P) for Act 2. Yes yes, I know I said a week at most between Acts, but I need more time, so sorry I guess. I alr have the rough plan for Act 2, so don't worry, the story is there.
> 
> Righto! So with Act 1 completed, I hope you squids have all come to know each of our 3 leads a tad, their quirks and all. I also began with some redimentally (ok, I butchered that spelling) relationships, like Alpha's respect for Three, Gold's dislike to Three, Three generally being Three... (Wait, that last one wasn't a relationship,heck, were any of them even?) Ara.
> 
> Ha.
> 
> Whatever, there's more to come, definitely so! Wait for it, I'll be back. The next Act is titled 'A life on the surface', where we delve deeper into the worldbuilding and lives of our 3 leads. Not quite certain how long it actually would be, but again I'm leaning towards 5 ish chapters.
> 
> Annnnnnyways. I wonder how I did for this chapter's opening? Like, the first half of the chapter before the break to the 3 week timeskip. It's kinda a new writing style I'm experimenting with, wherein the narrator takes a more dominant role in the story telling instead of letting the characters tell the story. (Etc the narrator justifies an action or thought before the character does it, instead of the character doing it first then other characters deducing something about that character.). Its complicated, but yeah, please do feedback if there's anything at all I can improve on. (or to scrap this writing style)
> 
> Well, other than that, other forms of feedback is also welcomed and loved, no matter the content! Constructive or whatever, just don't flame for no reason.... then again, this is like, my 11th work, and no one just straight up burned me yet. Ha! Well, I'll reply to every comment when I can!
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2: A life on the surface.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm backkkkk! Not quite even a week, but I have enough chapters of act 2 built up that I'm confident in starting act 2 now, so here yea go! 
> 
> Baam! It's a boom from the start! Ha! 
> 
> \---
> 
> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location or time passing.

“Uhhh…No—no… Please….” A weak voice floated around the little cave.

A young octoling, no more than 12 years of age, lay sobbing silently on the floor. She lay on her side, legs no longer having the strength to support her small frame.

And on the ground, she sniffed and shivered in fear of what was to happen to her.

_It wasn’t supposed to be like this… she… she had succeeded. She passed all those terrible, horrifying tests, and was promised freedom… not this…_

“…Poor little one, you’re in so much… pain.” A revoltingly silky sweet voice spoke from around her.

She trembled. _No, please… no._

Her legs wouldn’t work anymore, but she still tried to get away, crawling weakly with her hands to inch away from the voice.

Crawls scraped uselessly against the floor, as she desperately tried to move away.

_It was useless,_ she knew that_, there was nowhere to run to._ But still, she had to try, her self-preservation was kicking in, urging her forwards, away from this threat to her.

‘Clack. Clack. Clack.’ Sharp footfalls came towards her, each step calculated and precise.

The octoling’s breathing came sharp now, hitching in her throat.

_No. No. No._

‘Clack.’

Then her leg was grabbed, and her form pulled backwards.

She would scream, but no longer had the energy to do so anymore, instead gasping in a hollow whine of fear.

“…No…No! Pl—please… please no…” She begged, even as she was pulled helplessly away.

She was crying now, tears and snot smearing against the floor.

“Now now, don’t make a fuss, little one. It’ll be all over soon,” The disgusting voice spoke once more.

“Soon… you’ll be in the Promised Land.”

The octoling looked up shakily.

_What…? Was there a chance…?_

Then she was dragged around the corner, and she saw her destination.

The octoling screamed, voice breaking off as her throat gave out after a couple of seconds.

She pulled at the floor, trying anyway possible to find some purchase to dig her claws in and escape.

She twisted and turned, trying to shake herself free.

It was all in vain.

She was thrown in, the door shutting behind her.

The platform rose, bringing her into a blur of light.

She slammed her little fists weakly at the glass walls which now imprisoned her, praying that this was all a dream, that it was not real.

_NO! NO! NO!_

A whirling sound came from above her, causing her to try with renewed desperation to escape.

_It was useless. Useles. Ueslsee. lUSess. SIEsS. K1UEJs. A2WJNCL. M3KBDckjAc. A4uWU*#FHO. B5-DHL_*!FLIFH@(@#YO*) O6pHFIP@._

_…_

“Sample biomatter acquisition complete. Subject No. 10,007 successfully blended.” A robotic voice announced, coming from what appeared to be a telephone stand.

“Btzz! <Accessing database>. Scan complete. Located subject 10,008. <Sending data>. Sending data complete. Awaiting retrieval.” The telephone beeped as it announced, twirling on its stand to look straight at the only other figure in the place.

“…Hmm. Data received, oh? Another octoling, really now, don’t you ever get bored of the same old thing?” They checked at their device, before questioning the telephone.

“Sufficient biomatter 96% met. <Accessing data>. Correction. Sufficient biomatter 98% met. Subject 10,008 would allow for biomatter to reach 100%.” The telephone hummed in reply.

“Oh. Yes, wonderful! Finally… ah. Well then, I’ll get to work then, wish me luck!” The figure announced, even as they smiled, almost innocently.

“Acknowledged. Good luck, Platinum.” The telephone whirled as it turned back to its original position, as it gave it’s reply and farewell.

“Heh. Well then… Here I come… little one,” The one known as Platinum now grinned sadistically as they exited the room, shutting of the screen on their device, the picture of another octoling clicking into darkness.

* * *

It was late at night, the streets of Inkopolis largely deserted save for those one or two hardcore teams that still played.

The guard sighed, as he sipped on his lukewarm coffee.

_Disgusting, and every hour that went by meant his drink would only get colder._

_Yet another night shift… This was his third time in the row already. Life sucked, why did they even need to have guards? It wasn’t like crime existed in Inkopolis._

_Ok, that was going too far,_ the guard knew, _but he was at least allowed to complain about his lot in life, no?_

He reached for his bagel at his side, only to for his hand to grab air.

Turning in confusion, he craned his neck to look for his source of energy for the night.

He swore he left it on the table along with the coffee, but now it was gone.

_Strange…_ The guard frowned, as he stood and dropped down, searching for his lost bagel.

_Where could it be now… Urg…_

He straightened, groaning in frustration as his situation. _It was right there! He left it right there, and now it was gone! What in the world?_

The guard grumbled silently as he resumed his seat at his post, a post he couldn’t leave, no matter what.

_The convenience store was just in front of the building he guarded, just 50 meters away… full of hot coffee and warm bagels._

His stomach growled, as the guard rapidly forced his mind away from food, and to focus on his job.

He was a guard for the Inkopolis military headquarters; he had a responsibility to see his duty through to safeguard those inside. Due to the rather low crime rate of Inkopolis, there really was only a handful of guards stationed around the building as a single line of protection, himself being one of them.

The guard reached for his coffee mug, deciding to quench his hunger with another mouthful of drink, no matter how disgusting the lukewarm beverage tasted.

His hand grasped at air again. _It was gone. The mug was gone._

The guard looked to his side, staring in utter confusion at the empty space where he had just placed the coffee cup seconds ago.

Slowly, a thought crept up into his mind.

The guard froze, as the implications the thought gave slowly started the sink in.

His breathing came shallow now, as the thump of his heartbeats sounded loud against his chest.

_The night was quiet, too quiet. Oh, how he long just a hear a single cheer from an emerging team from the battle lobby, but there was nothing. _Inkopolis was silent in the night, and all at once the silence was getting to him.

_The bagel was gone. The coffee mug was gone._

_Someone had taken it._

_Someone who was in the room with him now._

_Someone who he couldn’t see at all._

His eyes darted over to the door; it was locked from the inside, requiring the person on the inside to press a button to allow entry into the room.

_No, maybe he was overthinking it, he was just letting the night get to him._

Slowly, he unfroze his tensed muscles, and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

_Yes, that’s right. He was perfectly safe here, there was absolutely no way anysquid could have entered the room without his approval._

_The bagel and coffee mug… were probably around, maybe he just overlooked it in his panic._

_Yeah, that was it._

The guard blew out the breath, calming himself as he opened his eyes.

There was an uneaten bagel and steamy hot coffee now straight in front of him, exactly where they weren’t before.

“a..ah…Ah…AH….” The guard now shuttered, as his mind rapidly tried to make sense of everything.

_No. No. No._

_This didn’t make sense! No!_

_There was someo—_

_NO! The bagel and coffee couldn’t just have—_

_There was someone i—_

_NO! SHUT IT! NO! IMMPOSSIBLE!_

_There was someone in the ro—_

_NONNONONNONNONONONONONOONONONOON—_

_There was someone in the room with him._

The guard stared at the two items on the table, the image of the warm bagel and piping hot coffee burning a hole through him.

His breathing came short, his chest hurt as his uniform felt tight against his form, as he stood rooted to the spot, just staring at the bagel and coffee mug.

“Good evening.” A cool voice broke through the silence from behind him, shattering the dams of self-denial he built up.

“AHHHH!!” The guard screamed, pivoting around and throwing his fists out randomly.

“Woah there! Hey! Haha chill man!” The voice laughed, before a hand clasped his shoulder, pressing down with just enough strength to stop his hands from flailing around.

The guard gasped, and slowly opened eyes he didn’t know were closed, peeking at whoever was in front of him.

“Hey there! Woah dude, I’m sorry, guess I took it too far?” The voice spoke, and slowly, the guard matched the voice with the face that now came into his vision.

He lowered his hands, and exhaled in relief.

“S... Sir! Please, you gave me a fright!” The guard sounded, as he laughed nervously, now that he actually recognized who he was speaking to.

“Hahaha, no no. My bad, I should have just knocked, huh? Ah, I just wanted to get you fresh supplies for the night now,” The figure spoke, as they rubbed their neck sheepishly.

“Oh, and didn’t I say that you all don’t need to call me Sir? Please, there’s no need to. I’m just the same as everysquid else, just somesquid trying to make their way in the world,” The figure commented, before removing their grip on the guard’s shoulder.

“O—Oh! Yes Sir! Ah, I mean, sorry Sir!” The guard stammered, before he realized his mistake again.

“Geh. Well whatever, best of luck in your night duty, soldier! Help yourself, please!” The figure turned the leave as they spoke, before gesturing in general towards the bagel and coffee.

The guard looked at the food.

_As appetizing as it was before… somehow now he never wanted to see a bagel or coffee ever again._

_Though, he should at least thank Sir for the thought…_

“S—Sir! Ah. Erm… I mean, Platinum! Thank you for th…” The guard spoke up, turning as he did, but he was alone once more.

_Eh?_

The guard blinked, as he stared ahead, once more the same sight of the empty guardhouse meeting him.

_Sir… No, Platinum must have already left, as stealthily as he came… _His mind supplied.

The guard nodded to himself, _that made sense. It made sense. It made sense. It made sense…_

A small voice spoke quietly at the back of his mind, but he desperately ignored it.

_He knew, he knew it was… impossible. _As much as he tried to convince himself otherwise_… he knew it wasn’t possible._

_No matter how high ranking one was, they still couldn’t enter the guardhouse anytime they wanted, there wasn’t a special pass or anything to allow entry. No, the only way in was through him pressing the button._

The guard felt the silence of the night once more.

And the bagel and the coffee mug sat on the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MMMmMmmmm.... HAHAHAHAHAHA.
> 
> Oh my Cod. I'm sorry guys and gals, NOT! Oh my Cod! I just discovered I love to write horror and suspense! Cod! Why didn't I ever think of thus before, it so fits my writing style!
> 
> HAHAHAAHHAHAHAHA! My Cod! Dammit! Ahhhhhh, that's so good. I love this chapter!
> 
> Was it scary? I hope it was, I really tried to make it as such, so feedback in that area would certainly be helpful! i mean, plus this is my first time writing horror and suspense, so yeah, not quite sure how I did. But I know I like it.
> 
> That being said, we got quite a fun reveal of a new character this chapter. I know I know, its act 2, a life on the surface, and here I am with the story no where near the surface... but I'll get there. (Besides, the second half WAS on the surface, so that counts, right? Right?) I needed to introduce my 'villian' since my 'Heroes' were all done with with act 1. So what better time than in between act 1 and 2. As a bonus, it add angst and unknown for the story going forwards, not knowing what lurks in the darkness.
> 
> Yes, I'm a evil author. I think I established that fact long ago. But yeah. Sorry not sorry. And unlike 'Fresh Start', I'm not going to promise a happy or sad or evil or good ending. Just read on to find out. I mean, its all part of the suspense and mystery now, no? Heh.
> 
> Sooooo.... shall we talk about 'Platinum?' Who here actually don't get him? As in who he is. Platinum is an OC, as in original character, but I think its fairly obvious who he is in context to the story, I hope? If not then that means my worldbuilding isn't good enough. Maybe so, I guess.
> 
> Well, it will be all addressed in time. I'm not particularly hiding him, but rather having little spinets of how dangerous he truly is leak out to you, the reader. Cause well, I'm evil too. Annnnnd this is actually my first time creating an actual villain, yeah his a villain, soooo let me know how I did!
> 
> BTW I totally promise next chapter will actually be about 'a life on the surface'. I promise.
> 
> Righto Righto! As usual, feedback is loved and appreciated, I would reply to every comment when I can.
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2: A life on the surface.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location or time passing.

Alpha stared straight ahead at her form in the mirror.

_No. That... this couldn't be her. No, there was no way this was her._

She turned, a face of horror and disgust as she fixed the cause of her predicament with a look, a look which she had perfected from countless stare downs with Madam back in the domes.

Three laughed nervously.

"Not... good?" Three began, before she looked away, pointy avoiding the look Alpha was sending her way.

Alpha hissed, and turned, marching back into the room to her side, her message clear as day.

Except that back in the room, she was forced to endure her image in the mirror yet again.

_Cod. Oh Cod, she was going to need to scrub her eyeballs after this._

The figure in the mirror was dressed in a tight fitting full body dress, with matching heeled slippers and an oversized hairband to accompany it. Makeup had been applied to her face, particularly her eyes to simulate the classic 'mask' of inklings, and her tentacles had been styled into a rough bun at the back of her head, the rest of her suckers arranged to be hidden by the headdress.

Alpha stared down her reflection, hating the fact that despite her hatred of the outfit, it was accomplishing the aim of disguising her. _For all intents and purposes, the figure in the mirror looked exactly like an inkling, save for her tentacles. Then again, Three had assured her that inklings always had 'fresh' new styles, so her tentacles could just be passed off as a new style._

_Thinking of Three..._ Alpha sighed, _Three was the reason she was going through this whole deal in the first place._

The New Squidbeak Splatoon Agent was brilliant in her suggestion to help disguise herself to blend in, so that she could carry out her missions easier. _But well... Three wasn't so brilliant when it came to choosing outfits. That or inkling fashion styles just straight up sucked._

_Heels and a form fitting dress. Seriously, how was she supposed to be combat ready in an instant? _

The dress was snug around her form, limiting her upper body movement and all but reducing her strides to small dainty steps.

_Then the heels, oh Cod the heels._

Every step in what Three dubbed 'training heels' already felt like she was fighting, and losing a battle of balance.

_There was absolutely no way she was going with this. _

"Alpha...? Erm... Ah... You ok in there?" Three's voice sounded through the curtain separating them.

Alpha blinked.

_Three was addressing her as 'Alpha', not 'Tako-san', which felt odd for some reason. Three... Three likely felt bad about the whole incident, and thus wasn't her usual bubblily self. _

"Ah... Me fine, one moment," Alpha replied, shaking her head slightly.

Three was a really complicated squid to understand, but she understood the Agent truly did care for her as a person.

_Still... No. There was no way she was wearing this... this monstrosity. _

Alpha quickly began stripping off her outfit, throwing the clothing over to the pile of rejected clothes.

Alpha gave a soft sigh of relief as she finally peeled off the heels, and struggled out of the confines of the dress, as she enjoyed the cool air on her skin.

Reaching for her change of clothes; a simple basic tee and shorts lent to her, she caught sight of her reflection. _She wasn't overtly well built, since there really wasn't that much nutrition available down the domes, but she had muscles and a generally well toned body._

Alpha winced as her gaze swept over her form; Spots and blemishes dotted her form, signs of years of battle and hurt.

A particularly larger spot of darker skin across her waist was one of the more defining scars; the result of carelessness in one her earlier missions. She had overestimated her ability to dodge the enemy's projectiles, and had nearly gotten splatted from the glob of ink that smashed into her.

Phantom pain pulsed through her as she remised her past, as Alpha once again felt the hurt of the enemy ink against her body as it burned her skin.

Then another, a straight streak across her side, skin healed but the signs of a scar clearly visible. That was an inkbrush strike, from before she became an Operative.

Alpha traced the scar line with a finger, as she looked forward aimlessly.

Based on the rough timing of that particular incident, and the type of weapon used, she had high suspicions on who exactly caused this scar now.

Alpha tore her gaze away, clenching her fists down by her side.

_No, that didn't matter. She was just an enemy before, but now they were different, they were... friends. Yes… that was the word the inkings used now, wasn’t it? Friends… they were friends._

"Alpha...? Hey, erm, are you alright?" Three's voice once more floated through the curtain, though now laced slightly with a veil of concern and fear.

_Ah. She had forgotten about Three. _Ironic given that she was literally just thinking about said squid_... But in the wrong context._

Alpha grabbed for her clothes, as she quickly dressed, admonishing herself for being stuck in the past.

"Me fine, me fine. One second, sorry." Alpha spoke, even as she quickly pulled on her top and bottom, giving one last check to see her face and tentacles disguise in place, before she exited the dressing room.

"Ah! Alpha, right! Ahaha sorry for rushing you..." Three was there, rubbing the back of her neck as she gave a nervous laugh.

Alpha looked on, noting the many different faces of Agent 3 she had seen so far. This though, she decided, was probably as close to Three's actual personality as she would ever get. _Not Three as in Agent 3, but just... Three. Three as a person, as a... friend._

"... Three." Alpha spoke, feeling the name roll off her tongue easily, having called her name over the past weeks already.

_Still, something was bothering her for a bit now, so might as well. _

"Three. What be your name?" Alpha asked simply.

Agent 3 blinked in confusion.

"Huh?" She answered, frowning slightly as it seemed she had trouble comprehending the question.

Alpha went 'Huh?' herself internally, this was the first time she actually saw genuine confusion across Three's features, and it was_... interesting._

"Ah... Ha. Weird question there, Alpha. I, ah, erm, I'm Three, heh, Three, right, Three," The Agent began, words tumbling out in short bursts, as it seemed she struggled internally with herself.

Alpha observed her companion for the day in silence, before breaking into a small smile.

"Forget it, Three. You are Three." Alpha announced matter of factly, before raising her hand, and after hesitating for a bit, giving Three a pat on her shoulder.

Agent 3 was silent, yet another new moment never shown before, as she just stood there. Then she raised her head to meet Alpha's slightly taller built, and returned the smile with her own, nodding.

Alpha looked into Three's eyes, and realized that somehow, despite her smile, there was still something nagging at her.

_Three... Three had beautiful dark maroon irises,_ Alpha noted as she noticed yet another little detail about her companion. And within those maroon eyes, Alpha saw just a touch of confusion, sadness, and fear.

Alpha held her gaze with utter bewilderment; _there was absolutely no way, right? This, this was Agent 3, there was no way she would be afraid or scared now, would it? _

Yet Alpha looked, and for a moment didn't quite see Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, but instead just a young inkling girl, lost in her life, fearful of the unknown.

Then it was gone, as Three broke off the gaze, turning her body slightly as she did.

"Ah, right! I'll get the next outfit; I swear it will be good this time! Ha!" Three exclaimed, though perhaps a tad too forcefully, before she turned to grab yet another set of clothing.

"Here you go, Alpha! Try this on!" Three whirled, pumping a bundle of clothing forwards.

Alpha accepted the bundle slowly, partly due to being reluctant to try another of Three's recommendations, but also due to still thinking about what had just happened.

She stared listlessly at the clothing, her mind noting that it seemed like some sort of hoodie coat variant.

Then a thought hit her, as she tore her gaze away, and switched her vision focus again to Three.

"Three? Alpha is me code name... So me will appreciate it if you can call me, well, another," Alpha stated, smiling softly as she did.

Three met her gaze and tilted her head slightly in thought, then her eyes lit up, getting the hint. Her infectious grin returned, her energy bounced back, she stood straight once more as Agent 3.

"Haha, Hai! Tako-san!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's the fluff. ok,ok, I know this idea of shopping/ disguising an octoling who came to the surface between our leads is quite common... so yeah. Sorry for being unoriginal, but I thought it will be a nice fluff idea.
> 
> Righto. So this is probably the first (?) chapter where i dont have a 'break', since the entire chapter is self contained in the same location, nor are there time/POV switches. Sooooo, I kinda decided to have Alpha take the main lead for now, since I began with featuring her, it felt apt to have the story told from her prepestive. Of course, there going to be Three/Gold as well, though I still want to keep some elements of mystery abt those two. That and if I use Alpha as the main lead, I can always play the 'Delta' card, if you get what I'm saying. Ha.
> 
> Okok, so the first outfit Alpha wears is inspired by the Japanese kimono, but a variant of it incorporating elements of a maid outfit as well. I have the rough idea of what it looks like, maybe I'll draw it some other time. idk, depends on whether i'll have time.
> 
> Annnnd, while we don't exactly get Three's POV at all time chapter, I think I still managed to hint at certain elements of her personality. Of course it couldn't be simple now, right, as every character are quite complex, after all.
> 
> Righto! (I say that a lot recently, there's a reason, but maybe another time.) Feedback is always appreciated and loved! Kudos as well! I realized I never siad it, but I appreciated all types of love given! I really do! Hai, Arigato! I'll reply to every comment when I can.
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2: A life on the surface.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

Gold woke at the crack of dawn, eyes snapping open in response to his natural bio-clock.

He had long since conditioned his body to be able to shut off and on within seconds, as a soldier can never fully be sure when they could have a proper sleep.

_Well, not that there was actually much soldiering to be done, since Inkopolis really was rather crime free. Better safe than sorry though,_ Gold mentally asserted as he got up, allowing himself a stretch and yawn before exiting the comforts of his bed.

Today was a rare day for him, for them all as a team on a whole. It seemed management felt that the little task force that consisted of himself, Agent 3 and Operative Alpha would operate better by splitting their forces in reconnaissance of the Salmonids first, before engaging them.

Gold couldn't agree any more, in fact, he mused, this would be the first time he actually agreed with one of headquarters decisions, every single one before was rather crabby in nature.

As Gold prepared for the day, his mind drifted to planning out their objectives.

_Three was assisting in helping disguise Alpha, since they couldn't just let an octoling, forgotten by the public or not, roam randomly sticking out like a sore thumb. _

_Gold was actually glad about that... namely that as long as Agent 3 wasn't in his immediate vicinity, he was happy. _But unto himself now, in light of the other twos' choice of a more relaxing day, Gold had opted to go do some basic recon on the 'Salmon Run' operation, and maybe find a potential fourth teammate before calling it a day.

It's been a while since any of them had any rest, their days being back to back missions, mostly all infiltration or recovery of intel which required them to be on high alert at all times. _So for today... they could take it easy._

Gold checked the time, finding it a good 5 hours too early before it would be time for the 'Salmon Run' operation.

He winced, _maybe he should have slept in after all, well... whatever, he was used to this lifestyle already. _

Tapping away at his phone for a moment, Gold was delighted to find a couple of coffeehouses nearby and open, even so early in the morning.

He smiled, deciding to stay true to his decision to take it easy today. Coffee and a good breakfast first, then maybe he would head back for some rest before heading out for the afternoon ferry to the Salmonids' spawning grounds.

_Yeah, that sounded good. That sounded like a plan. _

* * *

"..." Gold leaned against a wall, observing the crowd gathered in silent thought.

He was at the harbour, but wasn't allowed to board since he was alone. _Most peculiar, unlike regular turf war or ranked matched where one could enter solo and be matched randomly with a team, it seemed the teams here needed to be preemptively formed before they could even board the boat. _

_That, that was definitely something they needed to know,_ Gold noted as he watched yet another batch of four inklings board the boat.

Every group was required to go through quite a few checks, since they weren't allowed to bring their own weapons, and needed to be equipped with issued gear. The final check, Gold observed, seemed to simply be a once over by some security inklings before each team of four boarded the ferry.

"Hey. You, yes you, what're you doing 'ere?" A gruff voice spoke up to his right, catching Gold's attention.

Tilting his head slightly, Gold caught a glimpse of a rather burly looking security inkling staring down at him, arms crossed as he stood straight.

_Nnn... What a pain. _

Gold mentally cursed, yet made sure to smile outwardly, turning himself fully to face the security inkling.

"Hello! I'm actually just here to check things out, yeah! Like, wonder what's this all be about, huh?" Gold spoke, taking care to add in an accent and slangs to hide his speech from being recognisable.

"Hmm... You're not registered. Go see Sir Grizz first." The inkling man rumbled, squinting his eyes at Gold, before pointing straight at what appeared to be a small bear statue.

Gold raised his eyebrows slightly, before he made a 'whatever' hand signal and began making his way over to the statue. The inkling behind him growled, and hovered behind him closely, matching every step he took.

Gold frowned, as his hand drifted to a small compartment at his belt, fingers quickly finding a small switch. His fingers hovered over the switch, but didn't flick it. _No, there was no need for that yet, he would keep it for emergencies._

_Ah, he had reached the bear statue,_ Gold noted as he slowed to a stop.

"Btzz...! Looking for a good job? I can... Btzz!" All of a sudden, the bear statue hummed to life, a distorted and fuzzy voice sounding through a speaker next to the statue. The voice then paused for a moment, before it continued, "Wait, you are too low level... Btzz! Come back when you're level 5...!"

_Huh?_ All Gold could do was blink in confusion before he was suddenly hauled upwards, his form swinging in the air.

"Heard the boss. Out you go." A gruff voice sounded from below/behind him, as Gold matched it to the security inkling from earlier.

Then Gold was out, literally thrown out of the harbour, with the security inking stamping his foot in finality as he now stood at the entrance. The secret service squid scowled, as again, hidden by his body, he fingered the switch at his belt.

_No, he shouldn't loss control over his anger like that, besides, he was supposed to relax today, no? All this was already plenty of good information to call it a day. _

Gold sighed, as he allowed his hand to drop. He glared at the security inkling one last time before turning, and made to walk away, taking the first corner he saw.

_Well, that's that. It seemed, however laughable it may sound, that he, and they all needed to be at level 5 at least to participate in the 'Salmon Run' operation. _

Gold gave a huff of displeasure as he considered his options now. _He could have some strings pulled behinds scenes to get himself, and the others to level 5, but didn't quite want to due to potentially drawing attention to them. So then it was a given they needed to participate in some turf war to raise their level, for one, Alpha would need to be registered in the system to begin with..._

As his line of thought proceeded, Gold pulled out his squidphone, and began composing a text to Agent 3.

'Agent 3. Required level 5 of experience to access Salmon Run. Request for assistance in registering Operative Alpha. -Gold'

Gold gave a once over for spelling mistakes, before sending the text. _Since Three was with Alpha today, she could totally help with getting Alpha registered into the system, and maybe raise her level to 5 along the way. As for himself... he would probably raise it himself, alone. _

His phone vibrated softly, causing Gold to quirk an eyebrow at the speed at which he received an reply. _Indeed, it was from Agent 3..._

'Hai!👌 Tashikani! 👍👍 I'll get Tako-san🦑🐙 registered, leggo leggo we can level up tgt tmr for smthing ~~😘👊 Fisttttto! '

Gold stared at the text for a good five minutes, standing in place as he tried to understand the wording used by Three.

It was a futile effort, but Gold generally got the gist of the whole message.

Shaking his head slightly, Gold kept his phone back, opting to leave Three on 'read'.

Then someone bumped into Gold as he was putting away his phone, causing them both to flail around for a moment before tumbling to the ground.

"Ooof!"

"Uhhh..." Gold hissed out as he quickly got himself back up, brushing himself free of potential dirt. Turning, he then saw the person who bumped into him; _an inkling boy, to be still sprawled out on the ground on his side. _

_Cod dammit. He just couldn't catch a break now, huh? _

"Hey. Ya ok down there? Need a little help, mate?" Gold spoke up, plastering a smile on his face and stretching out his hand in assistance.

"..." The inking boy was silent, and for a moment Gold was under the impression that he was dead, before the boy stirred, and began picking himself up sloppily.

The boy's movements were lazy, dragging himself along the ground, seemingly not caring about dirtying his clothing_... Though on closer inspection, Gold saw the boy was already in an utter mess, clothing messed up and dirty from what was evidently a couple of days ago. _

_Huh. _

The inkling boy was now standing up, or rather just hunching with his shoulders dropped and head down.

Without a word, the boy turned, and began shuffling away, slightly staggering as he did.

"Hey! Hey, dude! You ok?" Gold continued along with his little act, reaching out to grab the inkling boy, deciding to just let him leave if he just continued away.

Except the boy instantly crumbled under his touch, and collapsed back downwards.

Gold's eyes widened, as he instantly reacted and caught the boy's form with his free hand, holding his frame up. _A child... just a child, looking like he was absolutely exhausted and weak with hunger,_ Gold noted as he accessed the boy, now able to see his features up close.

Gold bit his lower lip lightly, as his mind raced.

_He could walk away, he totally could, owing absolutely nothing to this random inkling boy who he didn't even know the name of. Taking care of this boy would only serve to drag him down, to hinder him... on his 'off day'. _

Gold closed his eyes, and blew out a controlled breath.

He picked up the limp form of the boy, slinging him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

_Well, in the end he just couldn't live with himself if he walked away, he was just like that. _

Gold sighed again, as he now began his journey onwards; _he would have to bring this kid to his place real quick, maybe get a bite or two into him before sending the boy off on his way. _

_Not the most responsible form of action, but better then nothing now, right? _

_Hopefully,_ Gold pondered, _this wouldn't come back to end up biting him down the road._

_There was no way he was that unlucky, right?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooo! I fianlly managed to to the Gold solo chapter I wanted to. SInce, well, I felt that he was the most underrepresented of the 3 'secret agents'. SO yeah, I wanted to give him a bit of spotlight.... and yeah, story progression, obviously.
> 
> I'm not going to say anything about the ending.
> 
> Let's move on. Salmon Run, ok. Rght. I never played Splatoon 1 or 2, and even worse, I never watched gameplay of Salmon Run. So I think I got the basics down, but I'm improvising alot for how salmon run works, I guess I could ve made more effort to research into this gamemode? But I'm lazzzzzy. SO YEAH. Sorry, oops. (If i get any lore wrong,Ha).
> 
> Riado riado! As usual, feedback is loved and appreciated, Kudos too! Ill reply to every comment when I can! (BTW i totally check out people who left kudos as well, in case ur wondering.) Well then!
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2: A life on the surface.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

It was dark, not the gloom and dimly lit streets he was used to, but real pure utter darkness. He didn't know if he had his eyes open or closed; everything was black around him anyways.

He turned, hands groping out in the darkness, but coming back empty. He tried walking, taking small steps, hands waving out randomly as he flailed randomly around in the darkness.

Then all of a sudden, the ground went out, and he was falling.

He screamed, but nothing came out, everything being consumed by the darkness. It was everywhere, around him, inside him, it covered every inch and crevice of his form.

He felt the darkness pulsing through his head, crawling through his ears, pumping itself up his nose and mouth, screaming into his mind.

'...!' There was a voice screaming, yelling, screeching in his mind.

It hurt.

'...!' The voice was still going, echoes bouncing sharply around the inside of his head, sending pangs of pain through his body.

'...!!!!' The voice was warping, twisting, coiling was it changed.

He knew that voice.

The darkness suddenly grasped his form tightly all at once, choking him of his air even as he continued falling.

His lungs screamed for air, but he couldn't breathe, entire body squashed and squeezed painfully by the darkness all around.

He couldn't see anything, yet somehow could, as it seemed the darkness took form even among the darkness.

The black mass hissed at him, and reached out, crawls digging into his face, his flesh, ripping and tearing like a wild animal.

He screamed, but yet again nothing came out.

Then it grasped his head with what felt to be some sort of arms. He felt the gaping and empty, yet fierce and burning gaze of the being staring into straight into his.

'...!' The figure spoke now, an accusation, a condemnation. Then its jaws gashed open, and lunged forwards, encompassing his entire form in a single bite.

All around, it seemed the same words were being spoken now, he felt it all around him, directed in utter hated to him.

'GET OUT!'

Then he woke up.

He woke up. He woke up gasping, hands crawling and clutching at his chest as he spasmed around.

The boy was this way for a bit, just gasping in air and shivering in a feral position.

Seconds passed, turning into minutes, as time ticked by.

The boy breathed easier now, as his breathing became more controlled. His trembling stopped, as he continued to concentrate his gaze forwards.

_He... was on a bed. Most strange...he had no bed, not anymore. _

"Hey, are you... Ah, you're up, good," A voice spoke from his right, causing the boy to instantly pivot his body to the sound, his body reacting by jumping away, curling up into defensive position on the bed.

_There was... an inkling guy, standing at the door, with a slightly bemused expression on his face. _

The boy squinted, trying to get a better look at the new entry the room.

_The inkling... was normal, just a plain looking guy that would be just another face in the crowd. There really wasn't anything special about him, he looked... normal, just normal, with no real defining features. _

"Hmm, so you're all right there? Want something to eat?" The plain looking inkling guy spoke up once more in a questioning tone.

"... Ah, right. Erm, you can call me... Gōrudo-san, yeah?" The inkling then continued, introducing himself as such.

The boy on the bed watched this 'Gōrudo-san' warily, as he made across the room, setting a plate of biscuits on the table, before he sat down on a chair.

"So... you got a name?" Gōrudo-san began, addressing him as he picked up a biscuit and popped it into his mouth, beak crunching as he chewed.

"..." The boy was silent, as he pondered in thought.

_He had a name, yes, but not his name. And he had lost it, he no longer had the right to be called by that name. And besides, if anything, there was only one person who could ever call him by that name ever again, certainly not some random stranger, even if they had helped him. _

_They had helped him, yes. But if only this 'Gōrudo-san' knew what he had done, they would be absolutely disgusted with him. _

The boy shook his head sadly, before he stood and gave a little bow.

"... Thank you for your help... but I need to go now," he uttered, before he began for the exit to the room.

He felt Gōrudo-san's gaze track him across the room in silence, as his host continued chewing on the cookie.

"Hmm... Well now, that's not true, is it? Please, do stay for breakfast, at least," His host spoke, washing his mouthful down with a glass of water.

"It's not much, but get something into your stomach," He continued, before giving a nondescript motion and waving him over.

The inkling boy passed in his walk, and stood still, as he looked onwards at his host.

_Trust. It was something he had lost, and he really wasn't quite sure if he ever could say he trusted anysquid ever again, or even by trusted by anysquid again. Yeah, more of the latter, actually. _

"Look, I don't care much about what you're thinking, but I can't just send you away on a empty stomach, so eat." The one known as Gōrudo-san began again, but now in a more pressing tone as he gestured towards the plate of biscuits.

The unnamed boy hesitated a moment more, before he nodded, and made over to the table, giving a bow of thanks before sitting.

The duo sat then, across each other, in utter silence. The only sound which filled the room was the crunching sound of the biscuits being consumed, as well as the occasional 'clink' as a glass of water was set down.

The boy without a name kept his gaze downwards, staring emotionlessly ahead, hands moving like a puppet's, jerky in movements to reach for another biscuit before bringing it to his beak. _Ultimately, he just wasn't interested in anything else, not the food, not the chair he sat on, and not even his host for the day. He wouldn't ever see this scene ever again, nor did he deserve it, so the faster he got out of here, the better._

On the other hand, Gold, of course it was Gold, sat pondering in thought himself as he munched on his 'breakfast'. _Great Zapfish, he was pretty sure eating at half past 2pm didn't count as breakfast, but whatever._ He thought about the boy, this random boy that he picked up and was now partially responsible for.

_He would admit it, he didn't know what to do. He really didn't, having no experience whatsoever in caring of anysquid other than himself, not to mention he was pretty sure he was in the wrong age group as the kid to be able to communicate effectively. Not that the kid seems like he wanted to communicate in the first place. _

So Gold thought, and thought hard about what he should do. Again, the idea of just getting this kid away out of his sight was tempting, but his morals wouldn't just allow it. _At the very least he should refer this kid to somesquid who could..._

Gold paused in his thoughts, as his eyes lit up with an idea. _Yes, that's right, there was precisely one such squid he knew perfect for the job. She was perfect, she was the right age group (he hoped, at least), and already had a track record of digging hard to reach people out of their shells._

_Three, Agent 3. That's right, if he could get Three on this case, it would be prefect. But now how exactly could he get this kid and Agent 3 to meet? _

The answer came much easier than that of before, and Gold finished up formulating details to his 'save a random boy' plan.

"Erm, so, I get that you’re in a hard place now, but maybe it's not as bad as you think? How about trying to have some fun? I know a place," Gold began, before reviewing his speech and realising just how sketchy he sounded.

_Ah, well that never was his strong point now. Oops. _

"... "The boy across him was silent, as he just continued chewing on the cookies.

Gold gritted his beak, _so much for that now,_ but he pressed on," Come on, it'll be fun, you heard of the Salmon Run, right?"

Something clicked, as suddenly the boy reacted.

"... Yes..." The boy spoke, slowly and calculated.

"Wonderful! What you say meeting me and my... err... companions for a game this weekend or something? Don't worry, we'll protect you," Gold, now encouraged by the reply, continued.

The boy once more lapsed into silence, but his gaze was now sharp, as he began thinking about the offer.

The boy smiled, slowly at first, but then it crept over his face, as he gave his answer.

"Yes, I'll die for it."

Gold frowned slightly at the word choice, but brushed it off. _He had succeeded, really, he did! The operation was a success, of course he still had to leave it to Three, but it felt good doing something good. _

"It's a deal then, I'll see you there!" Gold declared, as he held out his phone displaying his contact information, continuing, "Contact me here, please."

The boy tapped at the screen for a bit, before nodding, the same smile still plastered on his face.

_It was actually quite creepy now. _

"Yes... I'll see you all... on the other side."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I ever mentioned I'm a evil guy? No? Well now you do know. Ha.
> 
> Well then! If this chapter confused you.... erm. Go read 'Fresh Start', the first part installment of this series. So yeah, this is kinda the only time reading the series in continuity is recommended. Cause well, I aint going to touch much on this particular plot point, this whole thing is just to tie the 2 stories together (partially, at least). 
> 
> Buuuuut yeah. Now I'm certain people who actually alr READ 'Fresh Start' are going to be somewhat confused as well. Ha. Ahahahaha.... Yeah ok, it kinda a plot hole, somewhat. I didnt plan THAT far ahead when I was writing 'Fresh Start', ok? Buuuuut I'm trying to downplay it, with Gold being plain looking, hence why the unnamed boy not really recognizing him. (that and the poor kid not really having much will to live anymore at this particular stage of his life.) 
> 
> Erm. Well thats that? Im going for some fluff/slice of life next chapter, prob some fun between Alpha/Three, so yeah. No primises, cause at this stage I havent written shit, I'm actually quite behind, yes, I know. I try. Ha. Ha. Ha.
> 
> Ahahahahah.....
> 
> Well. As usual, feedbacka nd Kudos are appreciated and loved! I would reply to every comment when I can.
> 
> An edit, if I may? Like, cause this chapter was drafted a tad before, and... I kinda want to say something. I'll just add a warning here too, WALL OF TEXT INCOMING. it's just me ranting, nothing more concerning the Chaoter or plot or announcements. 
> 
> I'm... Kind of sad, actually. That's that. It's like... This fic isn't making it? Even though I actually put in alot of effort into it. Then there's the fact that I pressure myself to have this fic good. Why? Because of Fresh Start. I.. Want this fic to be up to standard with Fresh Start, which I felt was awesome. But then I guess that was a random shot in the dark, and now I'm stuck, each chapter getting harder and harder to get out. 
> 
> Mind you, I can write, it's just I often find every chapter ro write not up to par. Not interesting enough. Not good enough. Not... Fresh enough. And the response proves it, with little to no changes to views, much less kudos. 
> 
> And then there that one faithful commenter (yeah, thank you) that actually sticks around, whom to them I'm eternally grateful... But that's that. 
> 
> I don't normally feel this way, towards my other works, at least. Like, I write for enjoyment, and if ppl can enjoy it as well, good. If not, no worries, I'm not bothered by the views or kudos or comments. But then this work... This work is different, the first time I actually feel this way. 
> 
> Well. What's my point? Begging for comments? Begging for kudos? Begging for views? Nah, not really. I...i don't know, really. I guess I just want to talk, you know, even if the conversation is one sided. Even if this is really going to be read by a handful of people. Even if there's still going to be that single response. 
> 
> But... Yeah. I said my piece. Sorry, I guess, for the wall of text. I'm just a lonely author.
> 
> Thst said. Erm. I really don't want to come off as begging, k? I really don't. But I just wanna type, yall know? I dont want pity responses, I don't want to 'force' ppl to comment or give kudos. That would make me mad, actually. I dotn want that. So then why would I say all this if I don't want that? I don't know. I don't know. 
> 
> Ah. I'm so sorry. I'm confused, I'm wierd. Im just so tired of everything, huh. Ha. 
> 
> ... 
> 
> Ha. 
> 
> ... 
> 
> OK second edit. Erm. I'm not going to make it too long. Just. I'm OK now. I found an answer, sort of, but yeah. I'm OK now, just thought I'll update it if anysquid concerned. Ha. 
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2: A life on the surface.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

"Wahh! It's not fair!! I won't accept this! It's not fair!! I want! I WANT!"

The cries broke through the typical chatter around Inkopolis' battle plaza, where inklings gathered in their teams, hanging around the rather popular destination.

Murmurs were exchanged, as fingers were pointed and discreet looks stolen, as those gathered around peeked in curiosity at the whiny source of distress.

"Wahh! No fair! No fair! Bully! Baka! Hentai!" The screaming continued, coming from an inkling girl brawling away on the ground as she shouted at her phone, pointing accusing fingers in jabs at the screen.

One then, could only assume she was distressed due to receiving some rather unpleasant news from this person she was cursing, and eveysquid around began giving a berth around her form, trying to mind their own business.

All but one. A single figure stood by, covered by a jacket with hoodie, and her hands thrust deep into the coat's pockets.

Alpha looked downwards; straight at Agent 3.

Never have she ever had this feeling before, and now it was convulsing through her every vein. She never been through torture now, per se, but was fairly confident she would have the mental fortitude to resist it. And then there had been situations where the odds seemed impossible to break through, but she managed too nonetheless, suppressing her fear and powering through. But now, now her mental state was crumpling, and all Alpha wanted was to find a hole and jump into it.

"Three... Please, can we take this somewhere else?" Alpha began, keeping her voice low as her gaze darted around at the distant, but growing crowd around them.

"Noooo... But you don't understand! It's not fair! Not fair! He's a bully! Bully bully bully! Unbelievable! See! Bully!" Three, still on the floor, now began ranting as she thrust her phone screen out accusatory.

Alpha sighed, as she crouched down to read the same message again, for the third time.

'... no point in doing so, I will settle levelling up to level 5 myself. Please ensure yourself and Operative Alpha are up to par for the upcoming missi...'

"See! See?!? He's a bully! It's unfair! Bakayaruo! Hentai! Cheater!" Three now began once more, shaking the phone and cutting off the message from Alpha’s view.

Not that Alpha needed to read the entire thing, she had done so multiple times already. This would be the third time, as mentioned. _(heh, three times, she certainly had something about that number.)_

_No! Concentrate!_ Alpha mentally slapped herself as she brought herself back to the moment.

Apparently, Gold had already done some recon on the 'Salmon Run', and his information suggested a need for all participants to be at the level of 5 at least. He had gone on to state that he secured a fourth _(eww, bad number)_ member to the team, and set a date to 'play' _(aka research on the Salmonids, actually)._

So there was nothing wrong, it was all as per their overall mission, and yet here Agent 3 was making a scene.

Three wanted to train together, it seemed, but Gold had flat out rejected her, leading to the current situation they were in.

Alpha observed said situation; _for one, it seemed Three was calming down now, still pouting, but at least she wasn't quite making a fuss anymore. _

_For two, whispers were still being made around by the crowd, and Alpha caught a few rather nasty ones directed at Three. _

Alpha scowled at the crowd in displeasure. _Sure, Three was making a fuss, but she didn't like hearing nasty comments about her frie--partner._

Alpha caught herself there and then. _She never bothered on thinking of more than two things at a time, often choosing to focus on a singular objective. Yet now, here she was just thinking of Three... Not even the mission, no, but Agent 3..._

_Most peculiar, most peculiar indeed. _

_Not to mention there was a most... uh... 'Ngyes' feeling inside her, hard to describe, but it was there, ever since she began her temporary life on the surface. This feeling bloomed at the tiniest of things; seeing a flower sway in the wind by the roadside, tasting the Codly food on the surface, wearing the new clothes bought for her... But this feeling was particularly strong when she thought of Three. _

_The beautiful maroon eyes of Three, the infectious grin she always wore, the spunk and limitless energy... Urg. Here it was again, the 'Ngyes' feeling was back full force, as she just looked at Three. _

It was confusing, and Alpha didn't need confusing now.

"... Come on, let's go," Alpha stated, reaching out to Three.

Three sniffed, seemingly content to stay on the floor, but after more prodding from Alpha, she conceded and took the hand.

With a 'Hub!', Alpha pulled her companion to her feet, before she quickly ushered her away from the prying eyes of the public, out of the battle room and onto one of the public benches.

"... So, erm. This be awkward." Alpha began, after a full minute of silence.

_Three... Three was silent,_ Alpha observed. _That would be the second time in 24hours she been like this now._

Finally, Three let out a breath of air, as her eyes flickered over to meet Alpha's.

"I just wanted us to have fun. We... we finally got a chance to play, and... and he didn't want to... I just wanted us to be... friends..." Three began, before she choked slightly at the end.

Three then shook her head, before a sad smile slowly came across her features.

"Well, I guess it never would have worked out. Ah... What was I thinking...? No... no... Three, I'm Three, yeah, Three," She continued, breaking into rambles as she did.

Alpha bit her lower beak, as a slight frown came access her brow. _Ah, this didn't seem good. Here was Three again struggling with... something. Alpha didn't know what exactly, but she could tell Agent 3 was having some sort of personality issue. _

_Name, particularly her name of 'Three', was that it? _

Alpha blinked, as an age old memory popped into her head.

_It was way back, right when she just became an operative. _

_She didn't have a name back then, and was lost in her life. She didn't have a purpose, she didn't have a way forwards, everything seemed pointless to her. _

_"You are Alpha. The first and foremost, Alpha. Get up now, and fight, for all our sisters still in the darkness." _

_Ah, Madam. Madam had named her, that's right, and from there with her new identity, she had gotten up and fought, and continued her fight up till now._

_A name. A name was a powerful thing; 'Alpha' was of the depths, and here 'Tako-san' was of the surface, having Three give her the nickname had subconsciously helped adapt her to the surface life. _

Alpha snapped out of her memories, as the solution dawned on her. _Oh, what irony, that the answer would come from the one having the issue to begin with. _

"Kamiyomi. Or Kayo, that's what we called you." Alpha began, out of the blue.

"Huh?" Three titled her head slightly, as she tried to follow the train of thought.

"It means God of Death, cause well, you kind off have a... reputation?" Alpha pressed on, giving an encouraging smile.

"I... see?"

"But personally, me don't like it, not anymore. So me think of new name. Not codename." Alpha nodded, presenting her point.

"... Oh? Oh! Eh, sure, shoot!" Three gave a laugh, as she finally caught on, and gestured for Alpha to proceed.

"Sanyo, for Three, though let's keep the 'Kami' portion, I think it's cute. Besides, I think you'll make a good little god."

"Soo... Kamisanyo?" Three tried pronouncing the 'name', feeling how it rolled off her tongue.

"... It sounds weird." Both blurted out, before exchanging looks.

"Huh?"

"Jinx!"

"Jinx again!"

"Ha!" Both burst out into a short break of laughter, as it seemed they kept speaking up at the same times.

"Ahaha... I'll think of something, don't worry! I'm the great, wonderful, the one and only Three!" Three smiled, and laughed once more, now more genuine then before.

"Screw Gold. Screw him, we can totally have fun ourselves! We show them all, the GIRL POWER!!" Three exclaimed, and gave an air punch.

Alpha nodded at the side. _It was great that Three seemed better now, but again, it seemed she was drawing unnecessary attention to herself once more, with a crowd forming around due to her loud voice._

_Right, time to change locations,_ Alpha noted.

"So... How do we go about getting to level 5?" Alpha queried, hoping to divert Three to the objective at hand.

"That's easy, just like smashing a watermelon!" Three answered, swinging her arms as she did, before stopping and pointing at the giant screen near the lobby.

Alpha highly doubted that particular analogy was correct, but brushed the thought aside.

"Daily news about up, yeah! Playtime! We can get them stages, then see what we want to play! Then we play! Play play play! Yeaher~"

Alpha gave an 'Ahhhh...' and nodded slowly, given that the sentence was more on 'play' than an actual explanation. _Then again, Three was like that._

Still, Alpha looked at the giant screen, taking note that the majority of the crowd around was also giving their attention there, for this 'Daily news'.

Then suddenly, the screen lighted up, and a rather catchy tune began playing, causing the crowd around, Three included, to give a cheer.

Some fancy colours came over the screen, and a logo flashed, before two figures appeared.

It took a moment, just a moment.

"You know what time it is..."

The words seemed to drag across slowly, as Alpha looked ahead. So, so many emotions were running through her, in that moment; confusion, fear, resentment, happiness, hope, anger.

"It's Off the Hook, coming to you live, from Inkopolis Square!"

Alpha darted her eyes around, _and there, sure enough, there was a studio from where this broadcast was coming from. _She didn't understand much on the whole electronical part on how video and all that worked, but she knew enough to know there had to be a source.

_Yes, a source, they were there, the two figures on the screen were seated in the studio as well. _

More words were being said, as well as cheers from the crowd, but they were all background noise. It didn't matter that the sound boomed across the square, all Alpha could hear was her own heartbeats resounding in her ears.

Suddenly, nothing else mattered. She simultaneously wanted to charge into the studio yet away as well. To get in there and see them, nah, see her up close yet also to get as far away from this place as possible.

"... Don't get co..."

"... ay the Hook...!"

Again, snippets of speech filtered through, yet all Alpha could do was stare straight ahead at the duo seated far away across the square in the studio.

They gave a small wave to the crowds around, and smiled.

She smiled.

Even from where she was at, Alpha could see her smile; one of innocence and happiness.

And Alpha broke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know where to start? There's so much that happened this chapter. WOw. Boom. Yeah. There's so much.
> 
> Like, this chapter really was a punch. 1800 words, really? I mean, it isn't THAT much, but still. Let's start at the beginning? I always, always wanted to write a quirky character, like, say, ADHD or Autism. Why, exactly, is cause well, there isn't really muuch protrayer of these types of characters. But yes, my pont is that Three does examplify certain characterics. Then again, this isn't the first time I had a charcter of mine be 'differnet' . Agent Zero, an OC of mine, as multiple personalities (lets leave out the disorder portion, cause it really isn't) These people are strong, they are just slightly different than others. So if theres yuri (aka LGBT), then there should also be support for autism and the likes. 
> 
> Thats... quite a paragraph. Do I support LGBT/ autism upfront? Probably not, but I'm still going to write about it, cause I feel it give my character more depth. Thoughhhhh, perhaps you (readers) don't like it? Is this too over the top? Hmmm, feedback would very much be needed in this location, like, I could totally tone down the 'strangness' here. (Though, ever wondered how I kinda know how autism/ADHD would be expressed (felt)? Food for thought)
> 
> Right, lets move on. There's some fluff between Three and Alpha.... so, ahem. Heh. It is an Agent 24 fic (I mean, its fairly obvious Alpha is the to be Agent 8, rght?) oops, did i spoil? well, deal with it. sorry, though. Buuuuuut ok, fluff, right. Did I do it right? I dun wan it to be too much, its a slowwwww buldup and even slowwwwwwwwwwwer burn. There may not even be a burn. Buuuuuuut yeah. (I should prob stop stretching my letters).
> 
> A short side note. I know 'Kamiyomi' doesnt translate to 'God of death' in Japanese (The actual term is 'Shingami'), but let's say in octarian it does. I just wanted to lay the foundations for the name of 'kamisanyo;, whiiich would eventually be--- Right. If you get it, you get it. If you dont, you dont. Or maybe you do but think you don't. then you don't. Do dont do dont dont do. heh.
> 
> Moving on again! The last part of the chapter. I guess its fairly obviou this is my favourite part? I mean, its ANGST. ANGST FOR LIFE. But yeah, heh. Sorry not sorry.Am I going to dsay anythign ele about it? Eh, prob not? Juuuust, i would love to know how the mood twist was, since it was fluff and all then suddenly blam! You know what time it is...
> 
> Well, as usual feedback and kudos and all sorts of love is appreciated and, well, loved! I mean, you could give anonomous love (Like, if you dont click anything but just enjoy the fic), but I wouldnt know that, but ok. I appreciate it nonetheless! Haiiiii!
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2: A life on the surface.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year. May we all have a wonderful 2020 ahead.
> 
> \---
> 
> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location or time passing.

_"You got this!" One sounded in the haze of the dream._

_"Mm, doing good over there, little one," Two added on, voice floating through her mind scape._

_"It's all ok now! Good job!" One was now speaking again, voice drifting out towards the end._

_"Yeah... We're always here for you, Three, " Two said._

Perhaps it was her name being called that caused Agent 3 to get up, or perhaps not, and it was just her natural body telling her to wake up, whatever the case, the Agent awoke to a brand new day.

Three got up in a daze, words of her past still fresh in her mind, as if she was still back then, in the past.

_She missed it, she... missed them. _

Three sat quietly in the privacy of the rental hostel room, as she felt a single tear streak down her left cheek.

Back in the days, everything was simple; she had her missions, she succeeded at them, and she was praised. They were a small, close knit group, and as the youngest, she was always the point of utmost concern.

_Saisho-sama... Daini-sama..._ Three felt another tear build up, as she remised on her two important seniors who once stood by her side.

They were busy, she understood that. She no longer was a mere child, she was more than capable of handling herself, she understood that.

Yet somehow, she didn't want to. There were always such days, when one experienced a sudden low in their life, and Agent 3 was smack in the middle of it.

Under normal circumstances, this would never happen, but recent events had begun to wear away at the happy go lucky persona the agent built up over the years. For better or worse, the meeting with Alpha and Gold over the last month or two had changed her. _She... she had come to be emotionally invested in them._

All that coupled with the loss of contact from the other members of the New Squidbeak Splatoon had caused Three to end up placing her version of friendship upon both Alpha and Gold_... Just like the two other members of her life she once had. _

_One, Two, Three. _

_She was Three, but before Three, there needed to be One and Two. _

_Agent 3... was all she had, she was Three, she is Three! _

Three looked up at the plain wall across her bed, multiple streaks of tears now running down both cheeks.

_"So... Kamisanyo...?" The words spoken just a couple of days ago came back, echoing through her mind. _

Three took a breath, as she looked blankly ahead. _She... was confused. Everything was falling apart. Everything been falling apart since the final splatfest. _

_Callie versus Marie. All in good fun, Three knew that, she had gone along with the flow then. But afterwards, everything slowly went downhill. _

_Callie disappeared after the final splatfest, for whatever reason, Three nor Marie knew. Not even the Captain had an inkling on his granddaughter's whereabouts, and that was almost half a year ago already. _

_As weird as it sounded, the Captain hadn't ordered for any investigation into Callie's disappearances; any official NSS investigation, at least, instead calling it a personal matter and leaving it at that. _

_Not long after that, the Captain had informed her that he had contact with the 'Octoling Revolutionary Army', and that was how she got to know Alpha, and by extension, Gold. _

_"Three... This ORA that we'll be working with... They found stuff. Stuff we never knew existed. Dirty stuff. Just be careful, young one, and keep your eyes open." The Captain had looked tired as he spoke to her then, even on his aged features she could see the stress lines. _

Three had remembered biting her beak, holding back the words she longed to speak.

_The Captain turned, back then, and had fixed her with a weary look. _

_"Three. I know you're concerned about Agent 1, I am, too. But this takes precedence, please trust me." _

Three had smiled, she had had to smile.

_"Hai, Captain!" _

So she worked with everyone; Alpha, Gold, to uncover the mystery the depths held. _These few months had yielded little results, just a couple of names here and there. There was the 'DSM' organization, along with some old files on some type of lime green liquid._

_Over this time, she had come to grow closer with her other two teammates, and subconsciously must have begun superimposing One and Two over them. She knew it wasn't right, but as long as they were friends..._

_Then Gold kind off dropped off, and that was sad and all, but she could still try. She was fine. She was fine. <strike>She was fine. She was fine. </strike>_

_She wasn't fine. She been lonely, so lonely. _

_But she had to be strong._ She was Agent 3, she was supposed to be the best, she was supposed to be great and wonderful. Even if she wasn't, she had to be.

_"Forget it, Three. You are Three." Again, the voice and echo of Alpha's words resonated through her mind. She was Three, yes, but it seemed Alpha was trying to tell her something else. _

_Speaking of Alpha... _Three thought on the octoling. Past their initial rocky start, she had come to view the octoling as a friend, one she could trust.

_Alpha wasn’t just a replacement for One or Two, though, she was... different. For whatever reason, the octoling gave different vibes to Three, never felt before by the young agent. _

Alpha was in tears. Just a couple of days ago, when they were set to go play some Turf war to level Alpha up, it happened. For whatever reason, after the daily rotational stages news, Three found Alpha in uncontrollable sobbing besides her.

_She didn’t understand, she couldn’t understand why, nor was any explanation given. But one thing was certain, oh so certain; she felt horrible. Watching Alpha cry with no way to comfort her made her feel terrible. She wanted to protect the octoling, to get rid of whatever or whoever was causing her harm, but she was helpless, she knew nothing. _

They had gone back that day, and never spoken of that incident yet. Alpha had been uncontactable for a bit, then showed up 3 days before the Salmon Run _(yesterday, actually)_ perfectly fine, and steadfastly dodged every single question related to her breakdown.

She didn't want to tell, and Three wasn't going to force her. Three just wanted Alpha to be well, to be happy.

_"Kid, one day you'll find the one, trust me on that." Voices, memories of old bounced through her mind. _

_"Whatever are you talking about, Daini-sama?" _

_"Mm. You'll get there, you'll get there. Just... don't hesitate, kid, not like me... Ahem, I mean just take the dive if you got to, yeah?" _

The words faded, the images projected in her mind disappearing like smoke.

She still didn't get it, even now, but perhaps she did, just a little.

Three got up, wiping away her tears as with the fading memories. _That was enough remission on the past. The past was the past, there was no changing it now. What she had to concentrate on was the here and now; the present, where every action would still count towards the future._

_Fun. She had to get back the fun in everything. Enough mopping around, being down in the dumps wasn’t cool, not at all! _

_The Salmon Run operation was coming up, and there was much to prepare for. Much, much to prepare for. _

* * *

The air was still, dust particles floating through the air, illuminated by the fading sunlight.

A singular lone figure sat hunched over on a chair, gaze fixed straight ahead at the glowing monitor in front of him.

"... once again, a pleasure, Madam." The figure spoke, addressing whoever was on the other end of the communications.

The screen was bright, just displaying the colour of white.

"Yes... A pleasure inde... indeed, Captain. We look for… forward to your involvement soon. The organisation must be inv... investigated. Operative Alpha had been informed, she wi... will fill up the rest of the details. Tak... take caution. Take heed, remember, Kam... " A distorted voice spoke, cutting off towards the end. It came from the depths below, connected through the monitor.

"Understood. I'll have Agent 3 arrange a rendezvous." The first figure spoke once more in reply, his eyes narrowing in thought.

Aim accomplished, the screen sputtered and died, white flashing for a moment before fading to darkness, the signal to deep underground cutting off as well.

The air in the room was once more filled with silence, through it was soon was broken by the slow but precise taps as the sole figure clicked away at another device of theirs.

'Clack.'

'Brrr....'

'Brrr....'

'Brrr....'

Vibrations filled the room, as the person observed the device in their hand in silent thought, watching it vibrate.

'Click.'

A connection was made, as two people miles away were connected now. He could talk to them, and they to him. And they spoke, a most energetic speech.

"Ah, Hai! It's meeee, Threeeee! What's up, Captain?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmmm.... Ah. That's... alot of flashbacks. Maybe too much? Sorry, I needed to flush some details out though. I took forever to write ths chapter, gong back and forth to Fresh Start and here to ensure the timeline made sense, soooo.... sorry if there's still any mess up.
> 
> If anyone can't get it, here's a brief chart:  
Final Splatfest (Callie vs Marie, Callie disappears) >|2 months|> Secret Agents Act 1 >|3 months|> Secret Agents Act 2/ Fresh Start (Current events; right before the Salmon Run).
> 
> Ara. Not sure if that's good enough, but yeah. That roughly should be the timeline. Well, if there's still any cofusion, do leave a comment, I'll try to clarify. mm.
> 
> So ok, some angst from our dear Agent 3 here... cause I straight up felt her character so far was too unbelievable, having no downs at all. So yyeha, she has downs, just never shows them, and ensures her charcter of 'Three' is up when she's facing people.
> 
> Annnnnd more information is beng revealed! I totallly could have scretched the fic to have a mission where they end up finding more about their hidden enemy, but decided not too, cause I dont think I can make it interesting. So I decided to plot armour abit to help story progression. If you read 'Fresh Start', oyu more or less should be able to tell where the story is headed, then again, its pretty obvious from just 'Secret Agents' as well. Next stop; the Salmon Run. That's kinda the meeting point for both stories, after which they seperate.
> 
> Okokok.... other then that, notmuch else? I'm finally approaching the 'meat' of the story, where shit finally gets real, I look forward to it! (Not written though, Ha.) Soooo I been drawing a tad lately, so chapter uodates may be affected, or not, Idk. At least I'll keep to the one per week. (But just a head's up? Im prob taking a loooooong, LOOOONG break after ACt 2 wraps up. I just need a break.) 
> 
> Well. That said, I got an announcement! Someone, someone! Wants to wrte a fic based off one of my previous works!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait! In typical Three fashion: "I want! I want!!"
> 
> But ok. For now I'll have to wait for it to be posted, but I seriously am hyped. I cant wait!!!!!!!!!!!!! (it may already be out when this chapter is posted. Given that this is drafted in advance, and i upload weeky)
> 
> As usual, feedback is loved and appreciated! Kudos too! I love you guys and gals! I love everyone who read and enjoyed this fic! ANd if you arent.... how and why are you here reading this? Ha!
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2: A life on the surface.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

_Magic didn’t exist,_ Alpha knew that.

Long, long ago, an octoling child savaging for food in the rocky outcropping had came across a single scrap of paper, flapping in the wind as it was wedged between some rocks.

The child had picked up that worn and torn paper, making out fading markings of ink and colour depicting drawings and characters on the page. It was some type of pictures, with words the child couldn’t understand.

She had recognized the figures on the paper to be inklings, though they looked so different form what she had learn about them in class. The inkling was female, it appeared, and the pictures depicted her having some fight with what appeared to be octarians. That, that had caught the child’s eye, as she pondered over the pictures drawn on the paper, absorbing every little detail on the page.

The inkling girl was shown shouting something, and then the next picture showed the inkling girl transformed, now sparkling and burning with energy, before she chanted some words and launched a blast of energy towards the octarians.

_It must be ‘magic’_, the child had thought, as she couldn’t comprehend how the inkling was able to such feats. It was just like what school taught them about inklings, that they were terrible monsters, and some used dark magics against the octarians during the Great Turf War.

The pictures ended there, much to the disappointment of the child. Everyday was so bland, so repetitive, and having just a spot of colour, however dull and faded it was, was something that brought great joy to the child. So she kept the piece of paper, tucking it safe under the rocks, such that it may never be found.

Whenever she could, she would return to the rocky outcropping, and spend hours upon end just looking at the art on the paper, memorizing every stroke of the characters she couldn’t understand, picking out every detail of the drawings.

The years passed, and every time she saw that little scrap of paper, it would seem worse than before. The art was fading, and words started getting blurry, the edges of the paper started getting more and more torn and tattered. But still she went, she went and went to the same outcropping, and looked at that precious piece of paper.

It was her treasure.

And then it was gone. She had time off from her duties as a soldier, one she became after completing her studies, as all octolings did, and she rushed over to the outcropping, to her precious piece of paper. But it wasn’t there. She searched, search for hours upon end, overturning every piece of rock around the area, but that piece of paper was gone. She never found it ever again.

Yet more years passed, and the octoling soldier now found herself promoted to be an ‘elite’ tasked with defending a major installation of power for the octarians. It was then when she finally encountered an inkling, it was then when she finally saw the ‘magic’ of the inklings.

A single solitary inkling, versus an entire company of elite and normal octolings, plus extra support from the octarians, not to mention that the area was under their control. Yet still they lost, that sole inkling charging forwards nonstop, blasting though all their defences and troops like it was nothing.

_It must be ‘magic’, the ‘magic’ of the inklings, _much like what the pictures showed from her treasure long gone, the elite octoling had thought, before she finally came face to face with the intruder inkling.

But she was wrong; _it was no magic, there was no chanting, no blast of energy, nothing like those pictures showed. _The inkling was simply strong, too fast, too precise, too strong. The inkling tore through her team, her detail, absolutely demolishing everything.

She had tripped while backing away from the initial assault, causing her to fall over the edge, which ultimately led to her survival. She awoke at an unknown time later, to find everything and everyone gone. The power source she been tasked to protect was gone, as were her fellow octolings and octarian troops. All were gone, just splots of ink around on the ground.

She been picked up later, and reassigned to headquarters while processing took place to have her join a new unit. It was there she met the inkling again, as they came to steal away the main power source of the octarians. And it was also there, when she heard The Song, The Heavenly Song. And she was freed, she was freed of the brainwashing.

She was confused, oh so confused at the start, and ran away, away from the battle raging in headquarters. She was found, and recruited by Madam soon after, and gained her title as ‘Operative Alpha’, together with the objective of the Octoling Revolutionary Army. She fought her battle, and saw more and more Operatives added to the ORA.

They fought, they fought, they fought. They fought for the freedom of the octolings still in the darkness, those who never heard The Song. In every battle, every engagement, she tried, strived to be as what that inkling was, to move as fast, as powerfully, as strongly as that inkling was.

Magic didn’t exist, all there was was strength, strength to protect, strength to fight the good fight, strength to do what you needed to do.

_Magic didn’t exist,_ Alpha repeated this to herself everyday as a mantra, to remind herself of her lost treasure from ages ago, and why she fought till this day.

Then Delta died, and she wasn’t there, she wasn’t strong enough.

For just a moment, a sliver of time, the operative stood above the body of her sister, and cried to the heavens. _Why wasn’t magic real? _She wanted magic to be real, she wanted to be like that inkling in those pictures, defeating the evil octarians with magic, with sizzling balls of energy.

_But she was weak, weak, weak…_

* * *

She was on the surface now. The surface did wonderous things to her, somehow just being here made her happier. It relieved the burdens and pains the depths often heaped on her, it made she comfortable with life. It gave her hope.

She met that inkling, that inkling warrior, and she was nothing like what she remembered. Agent 3 was not all powerful, instead she had her own issues as well. She met other inklings on the surface, and they too, were nothing special, happily spending everyday in a carefree sort of manner. Yet somehow, even though everything was so normal, Alpha couldn’t help but feel a certain way every moment she spent on the surface. It was tingling sensation, one of excitement, one of discovery, one of ‘freshness’.

_It was just like magic._

And she enjoyed it.

Then of course, everything had to burn. She had forgotten the burdens of the depths, she had forgotten the haunting soul for which she was burdened with avenging, she had forgotten that magic wasn’t real.

“Mar…Marina,” Alpha whispered to herself, as she read through the webpage detailing the pop star and DJ. Alpha was huddled in a rental room, the lights switched off and the curtains all drawn. The sole light came from her mobile phone, a gift from Three.

“…” She didn’t want to think of Three, not after how they parted that day.

Back to the subject at hand, Alpha tapped at the phone’s screen, lightly tracing the image of the idol on the screen with a claw.

“Marina,” Alpha whispered again, as she read the name, a name not written in inkling, but octarian. There wasn’t much on the page that she could read, just a couple of words here and there that told her Marina was an idol and DJ. But it was unimportant.

Marina was an octoling, and she was here and the surface.

Alpha took a deep breath, as her claw tapped against the image of the octoling on her phone’s screen.

_Marina was happy here, it was evident as much. She… she shouldn’t bother her._ The longer Alpha looked at the still image of her fellow octoling, the more emotional she felt herself getting again. She didn’t know why, but somehow just seeing a fellow octoling on the surface made her cry. From joy or sadness or anger, she didn’t know, she didn’t understand her feelings towards the pop idol.

“18 years old…” Alpha mused as she read the number, assuming, rightly so, that it was Marina’s age.

She was younger than herself, she was just another little sister. But a little sister who had already escaped to the surface, and never brought anyone else along, nor attempted to help those still trapped by the depths.

And so, Alpha struggled with her feelings, of wanting to confront yet avoid the octoling idol, to be happy for yet angry with her.

She couldn’t stay like that, she knew that. Real life was still passing on by, and schedules and responsibilities were approaching_. It was 4 days to the ‘Salmon Run’, and she hadn’t met Three nor Gold yet. More so on meeting Three, actually, for up till now… Gold still somehow rubbed her the wrong way._

Again, she forced she mind away from the New Squidbeak Splatoon agent, calming herself down. She always got a certain way when thinking about Three, once she started it was just Three this, Three that, Three everything.

_Ah, Three. Difficult, confusing, strange, interesting , fun Three._

She couldn’t run forever, Alpha knew that. She had to meet Three for the ‘Salmon Run’, and she had to meet Three’s superior to pass on top secret info from Madam to them, something she only received a day or so ago.

She didn’t even know why she was hiding, or running away from Three, for the matter. She didn’t do anything wrong; _sure the way they parted was kind of awkward, given she was crying nonstop and wouldn’t say anything about it, but there wouldn’t still be no real reason to run._

_Was she embarrassed perhaps? No, that wasn’t the case_, she decided so after examining her thoughts on the matter. She certainly didn’t want Three to know about what the incident was about, but that wasn’t the reason why she avoided Three.

_Again, the ‘Ngyes’ feeling was here._

_She… ngyes Three. Yeah, she ngyes Three. Three was her Veemo, and that was why she didn’t want to meet her._

Alpha’s eyes widened as the implications of the thought finally set in. She didn’t want Three to be worried over her, she didn’t want to cause Three anymore trouble then what she already had, she wanted Three to be happy. And she was just a burden, a burden from the depths, so she wanted to avoid Three, avoid having to make Three share her burden.

_Ah. AH. AHHHH_. Alpha’s cheeks slowly began to flush with colour, as her form became trembling. _Oh, Ohhh how did it come to this?? She was pondering on ‘Marina’ but then everything shifted to Three again. That’s was why she didn’t want to think of Three, but by now it was too late._

_Oh Cod. She ngyes Three. She ngyes Three so much._

The revelation was surging through her, something so obvious, yet never discovered till now. It was right in front of her, yet she had ignored it again and again, consciously or subconsciously so. She didn’t want Three to be weighed down by one such as herself, from the depths of despair. It was just supposed to end, that at the end, they would win, succeed, and everything would be well. They would part ways, and she would return to a _(hopefully)_ freed people, back in the depths, and Three could stay together with her people on the surface.

_But it was not to be._

Alpha bit her beak, grinding them against each other. _There was a word for this feeling, this ‘ngyes’ feeling, in inkling vocabulary. Not quite the same, but of a similar meaning. Ah, what was it now…?_

The blush was back full force, increasing in intensity as the sole octoling in the room delved deeper and deeper into the subject of her mind.

_Oh. Oh right, that was it. Inklings used this term now, this word._

‘Love.’

Alpha loved Three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what I just wrote. Like, I know, but. I toally intneded for this chapter to be on the Salmon run and wrap up act 2. Somehow it didnt particularity go to plan. Like seriously. I was going to get to the salmon run, then relized I already spent 2000 words. Which is insane. I didnt feel like I wrote THAT much,
> 
> Errrr
> 
> So Salmon Run next chapter, right. Then i'll wrap up act 2. Hopefully.
> 
> ok then... I reread this chapter.... so now I roughly do know what i wrote. Let's talk then, yeah? Its Alpha, Alpha allllllll the way. Backstory! Yeah! Thoughts on Marina! Yeah! Ngyes at Three! Yeah! YEAH!
> 
> Fianlly. I swear I finally got to the tagged relationship. I been hinting, dropping little nuggests here and there, and I think its fianlly time to begin dropping actual bombshells. I mean. My charcters are a bit different, and love really isnt alwasy on first sight. So I needed to do some charcter developemnt. I hope this bomshell is justifyable. like it isnt awkward,now is it?
> 
> That said.... There's really no angst this chapter at all. If you count the Marina portion.... erm. that aint angst. its too light to be considered angst. look into the abyss of my soul and you'll see true angst. HAHAHHA. ok. (I totally wrote a random pure angst story the other day cause I was depresssed. but i'm ok now. That particular story is... somewhere. In AO3, its here.) ok though, how was this chapter? it threw me off, actually, that I ended it so nice as I did. I guess Ive been toooo angsty?
> 
> its nice. fluff is nice. I like it.
> 
> *Remember who you are. Remember the fluff of Fresh Start*
> 
> AHHHHHHH. AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH.
> 
> Right. and incase anyone realized, yes, that piece of paper was meant to be the in universe version of inkling manga, specialfically one on 'magical girls'. 
> 
> As usual, feedback is loved and apprecated, Kudos too! Ill reply to every comment when I can.
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2: A life on the surface.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

_There were new orders._

_The game had changed, and he was to change with it._

“…” Gold controlled his breathing, focusing on the sharp pain on his right calf.

_He was the arm of the military, hidden and effective in keeping the peace. Orders were orders, no matter how bizarre they were, he was to follow them. He had to follow them._

Gold tightened his grip on his own needle knife sticking out of his calf, twisting it sharply, causing another wave of pain spike through his body.

It hurt, but the pain helped him focus, to set aside his personal feelings and focus on his job.

“…” The secret service squid gritted his beak tightly, as he forced himself to endure the pain, to concentrate on the pain, and nothing else. The pain helped him remember, remember the harsh training regime of his past.

Soldiers like him were conditioned to let go of their personal attachments and feelings, putting nothing but the mission first. Gold grimaced, _he really didn’t like to remise on those hellish day back at the academy, especially since ‘training’ there was another word for ‘torture’._

Orphans scouted by the military were taken in for the program, and those that showed potential were sent to the academy. There they would be conditioned to be professional soldiers, putting loyalty and obedience above everything else. Due to the general harshness of the academy, there were many who never made the cut, but those who did; Gold himself included, ended up re-joining society tight lipped and nigh emotionless as a secret service squid of the military.

“…!” In a swift movement, Gold yanked out his needle knife, hissing as a spurt of ink came forth from his calf. _Of course, he wasn’t anymore the emotionless shell he was when he completed his training, but it was hard to re-develop feelings and emotions after 5 years of the academy, where everything was regulated. _

The spurt of ink continued, forming into a puddle at the base of his feet on the toilet floor, as it slowly began trickling away. _Somehow, however grotesque it was, this image gave Gold a sense of peace. He didn’t want this life, but now this life was his to live, and live it, he had to._

A single drop of water splashed into the puddle of ink, a sole light in the growing darkness. The ink around it seemed to be repulsed by this new addition, and spread away from it, forming just a tiny little pinprick of difference in the mass of darkness.

Gold smiled sadly, feeling a sight itch along his left cheek as the damp skin stretched.

_There were new orders, and he had to follow them, he had to obey them. _

* * *

It was the day, at last. It was the operation to investigate the Salmon Run.

Alpha twiddled with her claws as she stood outside the harbour’s entrance, awaiting her teammates.

She was early, and there was no way any of them would be here soon. Perfect to be lost in thought.

_It had been… quite a while since she met Three, and even longer since she met Gold. Then again, their current mission had called for individualism in their approach, and they had agreed to spilt up in the first place._

Alpha leaned against the wall which separated the Salmon Run boarding area, as she sighed, in deep thought. _Somehow, this mission felt so… heavy. It was as if her inner gut was telling her that this was the end to all ends, that this mission would be the very last. That didn’t particularly make sense, since logically speaking, they were nowhere near in solving their investigation of the ‘DSM’ or anything else in general._

_Perhaps it was the intel she was charged with delivering to the leader of the New Squidbeak Splatoon? She had received orders to have encrypted information passed to this person; Agent 3’s superior, using the Salmon Run as a front to throw off any potential spies on her activities. Apparently her fellow comrades deep underground weren’t slacking off, and had dug up quite a bit._

_“Operative Alpha.” Her communicator had crackled to life the day prior, causing her to give a start, before she quickly pressed the ‘receive’ button. She knew that voice, however grabbled with static it was, she knew that voice._

_“Madam. What is it?” Alpha had responded carefully, making sure she didn’t sound as flustered as she did._

_“Alpha. We n…need to deliver high st….stake information to… NSS. Ag…ent 3 will rendez…rendezvous. Tak…take caution. There are e…eyes all around.” Madam’s voice came through once more, droning through the tiny speakers of her communicator._

_“Understood. We will be having a team activity soon, I will use that as a guise to pass it to Three.” Alpha had replied nonchantly, giving no thought whatsoever as she did._

_That had been a mistake._

_“…T…Three?” Madam had began after a pause, her voice clearly carrying a questioning tone._

_Alpha’s eyes had widened immediately, as she cursed herself for slipping up._

_“Agent 3! I meant to say that I would pass it to Agent 3. Madam.”_

_“…” The communication was silent, just giving the occasional burst of static, almost as if Madam hadn’t heard her outburst. _

_Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Madam spoke once more, and despite the kilometres of earth separating them, Alpha could clearly feel the disapproving gaze of her superior on her._

_“Remember who you ar…are. Operative Alpha.”_

_“… Yes, Madam.”_

_And with that, the underlining buzz of static cut off, as the connection was severed, leaving Alpha standing alone in her room in silence._

Alpha stood in silence at the docks now, as she remised of the conversation. _Madam clearly wouldn’t approve of her stance towards the inkling now, much less having a relationship with Three of all people. Not that Three knew of her secret thoughts, but still…!_

Alpha grumbled in thought, as she shifted from foot to foot. Her feelings towards Three were now painfully obvious, bugging her every waking moment of her life, and keeping her up at night before exhaustion finally kicked in_. It was impossible, though. Madam was right, she had to remember who she was, and that it was never possible for the Inklings and Octolings to be together. _

“Tako…san, was it? I see you are early. Unexpectedly so, if I may add,” A voice cut through her thoughts, the familiar nickname of hers jotting Alpha out of her thoughts.

Instantly, a smile grew across her features, as Alpha snapped her head upwards, bursting out in greeting, “Thre—”

Alpha paused mid-sentence, as she realized that the figure in front of her was, in fact, not Agent 3.

“Hmm. I am afraid to inform you Agent 3 is not really quite here yet. She never struck me as one adherent to time?” Gold replied, raising an eyebrow slightly.

“Gold. Good afternoon.” Alpha gave a blank look at the new arrival, as she withdrew she happy features instantly. She really never got to get close to Gold, nor did she find herself caring for him at all, past a professional working relationship.

“Good afternoon, Tako-san. Do forgive my use of … your name. Unless it is fine to openly call you by your codename? Since ‘Gold’ as mine is acceptable in public standards,” The male agent proceeded smoothly, seemingly ignoring the indifference of Alpha with indifference of his own.

“… I think Alpha should be good. I would prefer if you … refrain from calling me by the other,” Alpha replied coolly, eyes tracking Gold as he slid next to her, but not too near that it was uncomfortable.

“I am sorry.”

Alpha continued regrading Gold. _Somehow though, his last line had caught something in her, as if he wasn’t just apologizing for messing up her name, but was actually saying sorry for something else. _Yet the older squid wouldn’t meet her eyes, and kept his gaze fixed firmly forwards.

Alpha observed him in silence, as she pondered slightly on the moment before. _It didn’t seem like it was anything she should bother herself with, but nonetheless, there was a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach._

_Gold… was leaning slightly on one foot, _Alpha noted. _Most unlike him, as the few times they had actually interacted in the past had always seen Gold be as prefect as possible, from his speech to standing posture…_

“Are you ok?” The words left Alpha’s beak before she stopped them, surprising both of them in that instance.

She felt the inkling’s gaze turn to fall on her, and she met it, making sure to only show a slight frown of concern. Gold was silent, most peculiarly so, as normally he always made sure to give an appropriate response to anyone question asked. Something about respect.

Alpha looked into the inkling’s eyes, noticing for the first time the bright piercing shade of crimson they were. Not as beautiful as Three’s, but in them, she saw something almost similar to what she saw in Three just a couple of days ago.

_Sadness. Confusion. Fear._

“I am sorry.” Gold spoke once more, though it was now more of a whisper, a plead to understand.

Then Gold blinked, and it was gone.

“We should get ready, it is almost time for the boat to leave. I will meet with my contact; the fourth member to our team. Please wait here for Agent 3, thank you.” The senior inkling in age stated, seemingly ignoring everything that had happened in the last minute or so.

“Wait!” Alpha shouted, reaching for Gold as he turned to leave.

Her hands grasped air, thought she did succeed in having Gold pause, and turn back to face her. But when he did, she could see that it was over; Gold’s face was unreadable and emotionless, and dead eyes stared down at her.

“What is it, Alpha?”

She took a breath, as she realized that whatever was troubling Gold before was gone. _He had made his decision, or rather, it seemed he never had to make any decision, and it was all decided from the beginning._

“No… nothing. Sorry.”

Gold smiled, and gave a small bow to her.

“I will be going now, then. Please wait for Agent 3, thank you.”

A horn blew from over the wall, coming from the docks where the ships were marooned, signalling the arrival of the ferry. The Salmon Run mission had begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. This was supposed to be the Salmon Run chapter, right?
> 
> Care to guess what happened, again? Exactly what happened, again.
> 
> I have no idea what I wrote, or rather how it ended up so long as it did, so I'm going to re read now before I talk about it.
> 
> Ok, soooooo Gold, right. I touched on him again, I guess. Hmmm mmm, I wonder what the new orders are, ara? That said, I did flush out a bit of Gold's backstory. Buuuut that's all? Not much honestly, just thought it'll add to Gold's charcter. SInce he really is the most under featured of the trio. Cant help it, since it is an 3x8 fic, everyone else is supporting.
> 
> Let's move on. its the salmon Run! Yeah! I did, really did intend on writing the salmon run rght here and now, buuuuuut stuff happened, as you can tell, and it never did happen. Next chapter though, I promise. (Third's time the charm, right?) But ok, what happened here? Alpha be struggling with some personal issues, and more cards are played.
> 
> And then Gold appears, and we have one of the key moments I planned from the very beginning of the arc (or was it work) to happen. Yes. its coming, folks, this act is going to end with a bang! SO gear up, we're delving in.
> 
> As always, feedback is loved and appreacited, I would reply to every comment I can.
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2: A life on the surface.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

The ride was in silence, as the boat rumbled towards its destination. Alpha sighed, as she leaned against the railings, watching the sea forth and bubble as the boat cut swashes through the water.

_There had been so much happening these few days; and she suddenly she felt so tried. For the first time since obtaining her freedom from the octarians, she felt tired, and not the physical really-need-to-sleep type of tired, but just… tired. _It was hard to explain, Alpha had trouble explaining these thoughts, especially when they pertained to her feelings.

Thoughts, emotions, feelings, towards Three. _Ah, here she went again._ Alpha felt her mind wander, to the one she just saw minutes ago. _It had been what, 3 days since she met Three after that disastrous outing? There were so many things she wanted to say to the Agent; To apologize for ruining the outing; To say sorry for messing up like that; To ask Three about Gold; To tell Three that she lov— Wait. Where did that come from?_

Alpha felt herself blush, as she buried her face between the crocks of her elbows, mumbling incoherently. _Urg, feelings, feelings, why did it have to be feelings that made her… feel this way?_ Alpha stared at the railing in bitterness, a pout forming on her beak as she went about in paradoxes.

She had met Three shortly after Gold departed, to ‘check on his contact’. _Three… Three had seemed unusually extra happy. Very, very happy._ The Agent could almost be described as mad with joy, as she popped into existence and tackled Alpha in a tight hug, laughing madly all the time.

“Three… are you ok?” Alpha had managed to construct a question and ask the Agent, who had simply squealed adorably.

“She’s back! She’s back!! Ahhhh! Okyaku-sama, why didn’t you tell me earlier… that she’s back!! Ahhhh!! Saisho-sama is back!!!”

Alpha didn’t get Three, at all. Nonetheless, she was glad the Agent seemed perked up. The duo had exchanged pleasantries afterwards, and headed into the harbour to find Gold, Three literally bouncing ever step of the way.

Alpha didn’t know about Three, but the whole time her mind was something along the lines of ‘tell Three you love her. Tell Three you love her. Tell Three you ngyes her. Tell her. Tell her. Tell h—’ _Yeah, now that the resolution had been reached by Alpha, all of a suddenly everything was crystal clear. Too crystal clear, actually._ Alpha would very much have liked it if her inner sense was kept blurry and dull, and that she would just continue to be friends with Three. _Then there wouldn’t be all this to deal with now._

_Now, every moment spent around Three made her want to die. In a good way, of course. It was all very confusing, so all she could do was fake it through all the way, lest her actual thoughts slipped forth._

_… She didn’t want that, though._

Alpha sighed, as she wiggled her head deeper into her elbows, till her forehead came into contact with the cool metal of the railings.

So, so many things had been happening. Even if she didn’t count her personal feelings and issues, there was still a ton in her life that demanded action.

_A data chip stored in her pocket, zipped tight, meant to be passed on the Three and her superior, someone known as ‘The Captain’. Madam had already contacted this ‘The Captain’, but in order to avoid leaking of information through the electronical connection, only gave half the information over the line, with the other half being in the data chip, to be handed over physically. Something about their hidden enemy, the ‘DSM’ organization, except this half of the data only gave light to part of the name of the organization, revealing the ‘S’ stood for ‘Sea’. As she said, this was only half the information, and everything was chopped off randomly, waiting to be made whole once delivered into the right hands._

_What else now… ah, right. Gold, the enigma known as Gold. Alpha was concerned about the antics of their male companion, that there was something beneath him, something more than he was letting in on. The ‘face’ of Gold wasn’t all there was, and he was definitely hiding something, something that just made her feel wrong. She wanted to consult with Three on this matter… though there was that issue again. Namely that she couldn’t form two proper (not fake!) sentences before Alpha.exe stopped working._

_Urg. Her head hurt._ There was just too much going on, and it pounded at her.

The ferry’s horn blared, interrupting her and jolting her out of her musings. She was actually secretly glad that it did.

_It seemed… they were reaching their destination, the island in the distance previously now coming into view, the details of the terrain forming as they got closer._

Alpha readied herself, and holstered her weapon, before preparing to disembark. She was armed with some shooter type, which was more or less the only class she was familiar with. While not her specific weapon _(since they needed to use rental weapons)_, this gun had a nice feel to it, and performed decently enough for her.

Alpha gave a stretch, as she began making for the disembark point. She had left Three and Gold after boarding the ferry, to ‘have some time on her own’.

As she made her way downstairs to the disembark point, Alpha found it to be already packed with inklings, all eager to ‘play’ as well. Except it seemed more packed then usual before, when they boarded.

_Huh. It seemed the inklings were giving a pretty wide berth around… something, or was it someone?_ Because of that, the crowd had ‘expanded’ and there wasn’t any space currently, not until they began disembarking. Not that Alpha had any issue waiting in line, though her curiously was piped, to say the least, towards whatsoever caused the inkings to give such a berth.

The ferry slowed, before it eventually gurgled to a halt, and some hissing later, successfully docked to the island. With a collective murmur, the crowd began dispersing forwards, Alpha being swept along the way. She thought she saw Three in the crowd, with the shorter Agent giving a wave and pointing in a direction and saying something, but she didn’t catch it. Then she was out, on the island of the Salmonids at last.

"... Btzz...! All collectors... To Positions ....! Btzzz!" a crackling voice rang out through the speakers.

_Ah. Already?_ Alpha noted as the inklings immediately began forming up into their teams and making off to their positions. _But what about them? Ah, she spotted Gold sliding over to her now, and Three, who was waving at… someone in the crowd?_

"Hey! You there! Yeah you, smelly guy! You're with us, right?" Three hollered out, breaking out into a wide smile and waving more viciously _(if even possible)_ once she caught their attention.

“My… contact. And our teammate for the event,” Gold explained, catching the confused look on Alpha’s face.

She saw then, the target of Three attention, as the crowds parted.

And just for a moment, she felt her hearts flip, as if she saw the inkling that stood before her before. Then the moment was gone, and logic set in, saying that it was impossible. For the inkling who stood there looked as if he was half-dead already (_he certainly smelled half dead. Urg.) _

"Hello! Let's go! There's eggs to be collected!" Three sounded out, gesturing for the inkling boy to come forwards, and come forwards he did, though sluggishly so, every step dreggy and forced.

Alpha gave a look at Gold, who pointily avoided it, though to his credit, he did seem somewhat embarrassed.

Then the buzzer sounded, whining out across the island.

The land began trembling, and an uncodly screech blasted from the waters around. The Salmonids were coming, and eggs where spawning, and their mission was beginning. Time to play the part of diligent egg collectors first though, and research later.

“Mina-san, Ikuzo!” Three screamed, and dashed forwards, the rest following her lead. At least, Alpha assumed they all followed Three’s lead.

* * *

It was a mess, an utter mess. Alpha may have just underestimated the Salmonids, as now she dodged through rivers of ink from enemies all around. She had long since lost track of her teammates, more focused on dodging the constant spew of green sickly ink from the Salmonids.

A metallic whine rang out, along with ‘splats’ in the distance, and Alpha caught 2 inkling souls fly off from the ridge below her. _Must be another team caught by the Salmonids, and from the sound of the metal clanking and machinery hissing, it seemed the cause of the two inklings demise was headed her way._

Alpha groaned and cursed in octarian as the snaking figure of a ‘Steel eel’ came into view, watching with dredge as it slithered up the ridge and locked onto her. _Perfect, because she obviously__ wasn’t having enough troubles to deal with already_, Alpha's mind sarcastically quipped as she gashed her beak, ducking to avoid another spew of green ink. Eyes darting around rapidly, she found and marked her targets, twisting her body to fire off a few quick shots to take out the smaller fry and thin out the competition.

The Steel eel cried out, screeching as it charged forwards, duo red eyes locking on the staring straight at her. Alpha dashed to the side, avoiding the charge and deadly wall of ink that followed as she tried to make towards the end of the boss Salmonid, where she could splat the driver. No such luck though, as she was intercepted by other Salmonids, who crowded around, eyes rolling around and mouths salivating, eager for flesh and blood.

_Urg. Where was Agent 3 when she needed her?_

Alpha whipped her weapon to the front, firing in wide arcs, hoping to push back the Salmonids while she made sure to keep an eye of the Steel eel turning around for another charge at her position.

_This… this really didn’t look good now,_ Alpha silently mused as alarm bells began ringing in her head. It had been a while since she felt this way, when her life was on the line, when she was faced with impossible odds_. Not that it mattered, she wouldn’t let something like his put her down, no. She was way more than a simple octoling, she wasn’t going down without a fight!_

Alpha hissed, and brought her weapon close to her, as she prepared to dodge the charge— a charge that never came.

The Steel eel paused in its movements, before it started jerking violently, parts both big and small flying out from its seams and joints, before it exploded in a flurry of green ink.

Alpha turned, and saw the body of the pilot Salmonid slumped in the wreckage of its seat, its head severed. Gold stood on top of the lifeless body, and cocked his head slightly, tail ends of a smirk disappearing.

Then he leapt forwards, arms shooting out in a blurry swish, and Alpha felt the air hiss as projectiles cut through the air past her and lodged into the other Salmonids hoping to sneak up on her.

“Pay attention now, Alpha. It wouldn’t do to lose you here and now,” Gold spoke as he landed in a kneel, and Alpha caught the glitter of his many hidden knifes and daggers in his cloak, before they slid away into the hidden folds of his clothing.

“Isn’t that illegal?” Alpha raised her eyebrow slightly, giving a wry smile as she did.

“You are welcome, of course. Now, did you see Agent 3 around, by any chance?” Gold continued, as if he didn’t hear her question.

“No idea,” Alpha sighed, as she tracked Gold walking past her to the corpses behind.

Gold made a sound, as he pulled at the bodies of the Salmonids, recovering a couple of sleek throwing knifes in the process, though they were now caked in green blood ink.

“That is unfortunate. I am most ashamed to say that I have lost my contact as well in this mess. At least I found you, so let us stay together for now,” Gold stated, and again, Alpha swore she felt like there was something more than that; that Gold was hiding_... something_. 

She gripped her weapon tighter. _They were both the same colour, they were supposed to be on the same team, with the same objectives, not to mention she just been saved by him… so why? Why did her gut scream at her that she was still in danger, in more danger then before? Why did her years of experience urge her to attack, attack the enemy right before her…?_

_Why?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally here... and it ended up being too much anyways, that had to cut the chapter in half. Ah well, for the better though, cause I really like the 'second half'. heh.
> 
> okok, but Salmon run at last, and I 'm starting to solve, or at least hint at, solving s couple of mysteries in this fic. That and connecting this work with Fresh Start. 
> 
> Riado! Erm, I realized this is the first time I wrote battle of any sort in this fic, which is surprising, that I didnt do so before. Huh. ok, well how was it, rather short, honetly, cause I dont think i can write battle all that well ti begin with. Buuuuut here's Gold and Alpha! I had Gold as a character just screw conventional weaponary, and go all out with legit shit. FIrst time I wrote smthing like though, so give me your 2 cents (if you would, ha)
> 
> Btw. I winged Salmon run all the way. ok, I did like 5 minutes of research into the boss salmonids, and that's about it. There's a reason why I dont describe ALpha's weapon or have Gold ever use his rental weapon. But ah well, it kinda fixs into their charcter right?
> 
> Everything is falling into place now, the pieces are set! Just need a little tip... and everything's going to fall into motion, yeah...! Ok, not much from me I guess, since well, as I said, this is only the 'first half' of the chapter. Stay Tuned!
> 
> fyi.  
'Ikuzo!' means 'Let's go!'/ 'Come on!'  
'Mina-san' means 'Everyone' /'Everybody' 
> 
> Feedback and comments and kudos are loved and appreciated, as usual! I would reply to ever comment I can when I'm free! 
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2: A life on the surface.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location or time passing.

**About 3 days ago, Agent 3’s apartment.**

"Ah, Hai! It's meeee, Threeeee! What's up, Captain?" Three sounded into her phone, making sure to keep her voice level to just the correct amount of energetiveness.

“Hello, Agent 3. There’s quite a few things we need to discuss now.” Captain Cuttlefish spoke from over the phone, and Three could almost hear the smile he always cracked when he spoke to her.

“I have received information from the ORA, which I would be sending over to you after this, please read through it and update yourself on the situation. We would be conducting a full investigation into the organization known as ‘Kamabo’ very soon. However, the information is yet uncomplete, I need you to relay the other half from Operative Alpha’s end, preferable sooner then later.” Captain Cuttlefish rambled on rapidly, but every bit of information was precise and on the point, clear as day.

“Understood, Captain! I’ll get to that, leave it to meeee!!” Three nodded along as she made rapid notes down on a notebook as she jotted down the important parameters.

“…That’s good. That’s good, Agent.”

Three paused at that. _The Captain usually didn’t pause randomly like that, much less repeat himself._ She swallowed softly, _whatever the Captain said next, she was sure, would be one that would shake her to the core._

“Agen… Three. Three, I… have news. I wanted to keep this until after this whole mission to avoid distraction, and I actually only received this a couple of days ago myself, and am finding it hard to believe and …” The Captain seemed to struggle with words, something he wouldn’t do when he was on the mission details. Which meant this wasn’t about the mission, this was something personal.

“Okyaku-sama?” Three sounded, feeling as if she was now just talking with someone she had come to regrade as a grandfatherly figure.

“…Agent 1 is back. Her exact condition, I do not know, nor dare to find out. But I know she… oh, my baby is back…” The Captain, no, Cuttlefish sounded like his voice broke, and he had let his emotions take over for the time being.

“…” Three was silent, _how could she be not when it was clear the moment called for sombreness?_

“I see. I am happy to… hear that, Captain. Let us succeed with our mission and return to greet… her.” Three forced her words out. _It was what the Captain would want to hear, it was what she needed to hear. It was what they would have to do._

“… Yes. Indeed, Agent 3. I wish you the best of luck.” And with that, the Captain had disconnected, leaving Three in the silence of her room; a silence which lasted for approximately 1 and a half seconds.

“AAAAAAHHHHH!!! YES YES YES! OH COD THANK YOU YES Yes yes… thank you… you’re all right…” She now broke into a yell, then feelings welled up and overtook the young agent, leaving her in wonderfully joyous tears. Three smiled through the tears, and punched the air in victory, whispering to herself again and again; a mantra, a prayer, a fact.

“You’re all right… yes yes yes, you’re all right…. Callie.”

* * *

**The present, Salmonid’s spawning grounds.**

Agent 3 hummed softly as she trekked uphill.

_It was… actually quite peaceful up here, baring the occasional Salmonid that popped up here and there. Not that they were any issues whatsoever, so yes; peaceful._ The ocean breeze blew by, free of the stench of grime and metalworks which polluted the lower regions of the island.

A flapping sound to her right caught her attention, and Three turned to see a seagull land on one of the rocks a little away from her. The ocean-going bird gave a curious call of sorts, almost at her as to why she was this high up. Or perhaps it was at the Salmonid that suddenly popped up behind her, frying pan raised and ready to strike.

Three gave a forlorn smile as the departing form of the seagull, as it flew away from the short outburst her weapon had made. _If only life was that simple, and one could just travel the seas, flying in freedom wherever they wanted to go._

Three gave a little smirk as the form of the bird faded with distance, and continued upwards, leaving the smear of green ink which was once a Salmonid behind to fade into the rocks. _She had to continue upwards on, it wouldn’t do… to lose contact of the one she was following now._

Three felt a slight twinge of guilt for abandoning her companions below, in that mess known as the Salmon run, but trusted in them to be able to fend for themselves. _Besides, it was just a game, and they would respawn even if splatted. Not that either one of her teammates would get splatted, of course. Heh._

_Still, this took priority, this really took priority._ The moment she laid eyes on him; she knew. The suit and gear were muddied and dirtied, smashed and broken, but even then, it was painfully obvious. They may have been of a different design; of an updated design, but the basic fundamentals were all there, it was the same thing. The Hero suit, except it wasn’t a hands-me-down like the one she had _(one she had come to love, nonetheless),_ but it was that. The boy was wearing a Hero suit, and that caught her eye immediately.

_An Agent, the boy had to be a new Agent to the NSS,_ her mind had quickly supplied, though what stopped her from saying hi was the fact that the ‘Agent’ was acting nothing like. Her first thought was that he was undercover, hence his posture and conduct, though that wouldn’t add up, as which self-respecting villain would be deceived by one wearing what obviously was the Hero suit. _So no, it wasn’t undercover, then._

Three had thus taken note of the maybe-Agent, and her conclusion was all but cemented when he suddenly disappeared. If not for her constant vigilance, she would have missed the boy making for the higher attitude of the island. She had followed the boy from then on, to her present position.

There was only one destination where this path led, Three realized as she continued following the maybe-Agent at a distance, and the implications weren’t looking rather good. _Timing was going to be key here, she couldn’t be too far, nor too near until the right moment, if the maybe-Agent was about to do what she hoped was not what he was to do._ Agent 3 grinded her beak in a series of ‘clicks’, and pressed on forwards.

* * *

The boy stood at the edge of the cliff, a short way down being the sea, where waves crashed against the island, frothing as they did. He threw his weapon casually to the side, giving no regard whatsoever as it clattered among the rocks. Then he jumped.

Three caught him immediately, hand shooting out and snagging the scuff of the boy’s collar, while her body braced and muscles tensed, holding the weight up.

She saw the boy’s head turn upwards, and her eyes met his.

Confusion. Guilt. Pain. Anger. These were all swirling around on the boy’s face, as he looked up at her. But beneath all that, Three saw something else, the tiniest, smallest glimmer; a glimmer of hope, of redemption. And that was enough for her.

_‘A good smile turns away angst.’ _She had read that somewhere before, and very much agreed with this particular statement. A good smile was a powerful thing, the receiver more often than not being showed that they were loved and cared for, helping bring them out of whatever troubles they were in.

_This boy, this maybe-Agent, was definitely having issues of his own, ones that perhaps she could even relate too, having a similar situation herself just day prior. Everyone would be in the dumps, time to time, but it was the job of those around them to smile, and pull them out of the misery and pain. _

_She wouldn’t know what he gone through, but she was here now, and she would help him. She was Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, and she was here to save the day. _

So Three smiled, and spoke to the boy dangling in mid-air, his life literally in her hands.

"Why hello there. There you are, here I was wondering where you gone off too."

_‘I know you are lost, but that’s ok, I’m here to save the day. So don’t be down, you’re not doomed, Three has come for you.’_

And Three pulled the boy back up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I both love and hate myself. I want more of this, I want to continue this, but I cannnnnnnnnn't I really can't. Cause this isn't Fresh Start, this is Secret Agents.... And the plot must go on, it ust go past Fresh Start (even though I'm so tempted otherwise. I can't, ok)
> 
> So i think I'm going to head back to Alpha's POV after this, to proceed the plot of Secret Agents. Else it would really really divert. I mean, I was already *this* close to actually writing the boy's POV. Cant see the gap? Yeah, because it was *that* close.
> 
> So aside from wanting to write the chapter I did, I kinda used this chapter to flush out the events happening, and connect the AU tgt. Like, yes, Callie's back, but I didnt really have a chance to insert here till now. I kinda made a mistake there, so I was trying to rectify it.
> 
> ANyways, a short chapter, short at least compared the previous few, ha. Well, I don't want to write too much Three anyways, as I stated before. She's too hard to write, and her time comes later. There's a moment later on where I need her. 
> 
> Well, as usual feedback is loved and appreciated, I would reply to every comment when I can.
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 2: A life on the surface.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Onxy_Blac?s=09) for updates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location or time passing.

‘Hey hey heya! It’s me, Threeee! Had some kouhai issues to deal with, scammed reaaaaaal quick. Gotto stay here a bit, can ya meet me straight @ D place? Thks a ton!’

“…” Alpha read the message on her communicator, staring at the screen as if doing so would help lead her to solving some ultimate mystery of the universe. _It actually could, for all she knew._

Three truly was a piece of work, suddenly disappearing like that on them in the middle of the Salmon run. Alpha sighed, as a little spark of jealousy formed inside her. _She wouldn’t admit it upfront, but she wanted Three to pay attention to her, and her alone. She didn’t want Three anywhere else, distracted by anything else; she just wanted the world to be her and Three._

_That was being selfish, she knew that, _as Alpha squashed the feelings and thoughts. However much she wanted to believe in Three though, it truly was quite unprofessional of her to suddenly forsake her post as such, and go on her own tangent.

_…Then again, that sounded precisely like what Agent 3 would do to begin with._

Alpha stood now at the island’s ferry terminal, and sent a text reply to Three, informing her that they would be returning now, and she would meet her later on.

Finishing up the text, she sent it, and turned to face Gold, who stood a little away from her.

Her companion seemed lost in thought himself, sans the earlier pacing as he waited for Three to turn up. _Gold’s expression was… blank, completely expressionless as he stared straight ahead._

“Gold?” Alpha began, noting the inkling’s slight start before he turned to face her.

“I just received a text from Three, she be staying here a bit to settle some business. For now, we should head back to the mainland,” Alpha said, watching for the outburst, or at least disapproval from the male inkling on Three’s conduct.

But it never came; Gold simply nodded along with the same look on his face, before beginning to make for the ferry as it waited for the last few squids to board. _Weird, mega weird,_ Alpha mused_, it seemed today was a out-of-character day for everyone. That or… it was a in-their-character day, and both Three and Gold were actually now being who they really were, beneath all that levels of façade._

_Well, she cared for Three, but didn’t give two shits about Gold,_ so she simply went along, and followed behind to board the ferry. She would have to pretend to leave after this, probably citing something along the lines of ‘this mission being a waste of time’ _(it was, wasn’t it?)_ and needing to report to her superiors. Once she lost Gold she could double back and head to the rendezvous point with Three and ‘The Captain’; some deserted shack near the harbour, overlooking the sea.

_Yeah, that sounded good, that sounded like a plan, she could go with that._

* * *

“This mission was a waste of time; I need to report to my superiors. Farewell.” Gold addressed her as they disembarked from the ferry, back at Inkopolis harbour.

_Huh. Took the words right of her beak,_ Alpha mentally sued copyright infringement, but just gave a silent nod on the outwards side.

Gold had hardly faced her as he spoke, and drifted off immediately once he was done, merging with the crowd of the harbour and rapidly disappearing from view.

That was terribly convenient, now she could head straight for the meeting point. Though, she took note, doing so immediately may lead to potential suspicions if anyone was watching her. Madam’s caution from before rang in her head, as she subconsciously glanced around her, seeing just a sea of inkling faces and colours, all dispersing as they alighted.

_Well, she was going to have some time before Three came back from the island, might as well spend it exploring the city on herself (The Square, where it was the safest, of course). After all, that was something the inklings seem to enjoy doing, no?_ She often saw inklings just standing, or wandering around the Square or Plaza randomly, seemingly without point or purpose.

_Right, that sounded like a plan. For one, one could never get enough of surface food._ Alpha smiled, and hummed a little tune as she made off.

A couple of subway stops later, as Alpha stood in Inkopolis square, she very much regretted her decision. _She had forgotten, seriously, how could she have forgotten? She had walked happily into Inkopolis square, and started taking in the sights and views… and her gaze landed on the studio. The studio. _And again, she saw her, seating there in the studio.

_Calling her ‘her’ was rude, though, given she knew her name now… _Alpha mused in thought, as she observed the duo who sat behind the glass panels from a distance. _She didn’t really pay attention last time, but indeed, there was another accompanying … Marina in the studio. An inkling by the name of Pearl, if her memory served from the information she read on the webpage._

They were talking to each other, and Alpha caught smiles and giggles exchanged between the duo as they chattered. _An inkling and an octoling… together. Did Pearl know of the past of the one she sat besides?_ Alpha continued watching the duo engage in unknown conversation from across the square as such pressing thoughts assaulted her mind.

The again, the feeling of jealously came, but slightly different, this time. Alpha watched the duo, and felt oh so jealous. _She… wanted that. She wanted to be like them, she wanted Three and herself to be like them. An inkling and an octoling, together. Were Marina and Pearl simply friends, or just bandmates? Or were they something more? Could… could Three and herself ever be that?_

And thus Alpha watched them, finding a bench where she could do so comfortably, noting the little quirks and expression they gave. Some time passed, and Alpha found herself absorbed with watching the duo, be it chatting with one another or waving at the crowds around the studio.

_Oh, Marina and Pearl were moving now, getting up and giving a wave to those around the studio. Hmm… they seemed to be talking abit with others inside, and waving?_ Alpha watched in sight confusion as the duo disappeared from sight, before they re-emerged from the studio’s side door, now carrying their bags.

_Eh?_

Alpha blinked, as she saw them share a little laugh, before turning and walking away, towards a parked car further back.

Alpha looked at the time; and it was 5.05pm.

_Oh. Oh crestoll, she had been watching them the entire day, till she lost track of time._ _It was already 5pm, being the end of the day, hence why they were leaving._ Looking around in horror, she saw the once brightly lit Square of the afternoon was now tinted an orange shade of evening. _Oh good carp, this wasn’t good._ She was so late for the meeting with Three and ‘The Captain’; _she had to leave, now._

Jumping from her seat, she burst forth into motion, and made haste back to the harbour, ignoring the fuss she left behind. She didn’t see the disapproving looks two inklings gave as she bumped them, nor the flutter of wings as nearby birds flew away in fright, nor the curious stares as she dashed past in panic.

Nor did she see Marina’s look back at the square, only to see in the distance the disappearing back of one undoubtable to be an octoling.

* * *

‘Sorry for the late text, was distracted earlier. Just arrived at the harbour, on the way over.’

Alpha wheezed as she finished typing the text, and sent it to Three’s communicator. She had sprinted dead ahead all the way to the harbour, though now she still had to navigate to the secluded shack which was the meeting point. _It wasn’t far now, just about 100 meters more…_

_Urg, it was already close to 6pm, she must have kept both Three and her superior waiting. What a first impression to make, absolutely horrible._ Alpha grumbled about her life choices as she trudged the last few steps ahead, panting with exhaustion as she did.

_Ok, ok, ok… to get everything into perspective, she just had to meet Thr—DANGER!_

Alpha spun immediately, hands forming into fists as she readied herself.

_BEHIND._

She ducked, but not fast enough, as a lightning fast blow came crashing onto her head, and instantly she knew she was a goner. Black spots rushed to overtake her vision, and were overwhelming, all of a sudden, as everything spun. The last thing she managed to do was unzip the compartment where the intel was stored as she fell and to pray its contents dropped out of sight of her attacker. Then Alpha was out.

* * *

“Sir, Gold reporting as ordered, Sir.” Gold announced, as he saluted sharply at the podium looming over him in the room. He kept his voice and eyes level, making sure not to make any unnecessary movements at all.

“Ah, good. Report.” A cool, yet authoritive voice sounded, bouncing off the corners of the room.

Gold swallowed, as he felt the itch of being stared at by the many eyes in the room.

“Sir, I have successfully made contact with Agent 3 of the New Sq—”

“Yes, yes, I know, we know. Give me progress on your current mission.” The voice interrupted, cutting him off despite sounding softer than his own.

“Yes Sir. Standing orders are to incapacitate Agent 3 and Operative Alpha, I have not made any moves currently. My apologies Sir.” Gold forced himself to spit out the words, hating himself for every syllable he pronounced.

“Ah, no need to be so uptight about it, you only got those orders, what, yesterday?” The voice flowed sickly sweet like poisoned honey, and despite not seeing the speaker at all, Gold could feel the nerve stretching smile the speaker now bared.

“You shall report directly to Sir Platinum from now on, I believe he already took out one half of the equation?” The voice continued on, casual and oblivious of the bombshell of information dropped.

“…Hmm, yes, yes. Ah, there is it; Sir Platinum has taken out Operative Alpha, report submitted… just now, actually. Ah, makes the job easier now, yes? Then your orders are simply to incapacitate Agent 3 then, Gold.”

Hearing his code name broke the semi trace he was in, and he forced himself to stand tall and unwavering under the pressure of information heaped on him.

“Yes Sir!” Gold sounded, saluting smartly once more, even as his other fist clenched, nails digging into his palm till they drew blood, then plus some.

_There… were new orders. And he had to follow them. He had to. He had to._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Act 2: A life on the surface.
> 
> So that's it, I guess. Act 2 is over, the fun and fluff is over... its time for the story to transition to the crisis and climax. I... I feel so burnt out, tbh. like, wow, I've been trying to write this chapter for , like, 3 chapters straight, and finally reached it. well, I'm here now, and yeah... wow.
> 
> So, I'm taking a break, a legit break as I refuel for Act 3. Cause Act 2 was still meant to be warm up... act 3... would be just... I dont know. I honestly don't know. I expected Act 2 to take 5 chapters... and look how it turned out. Act 3 may well be shorter then Act 2, since actual action doesnt take as long as buldup/ feelings/ inner onlougue.... I dun know. I dun know. For now all know is that I'm going on a break.
> 
> But what's it to you, my readers? Becasue as of this writing, its actually only chapter 11 (?) or 12 for your, so by the time you read ths when its posted, it may well be a mineth down the road... and I may already be recahrged and ready to pump out Act 3 chapters. heh. hahhahaha, we'll see, dun worry, I wont push myself.
> 
> But I really hope everyone been enjoying the ride so far... I mean, yeah? I dun know...
> 
> Right, so a lot, ALOT happened this chapter, mainly cause I was trying to get everything settled once and for all. I hope it wasnt too cramped or rushed? re reading it sounds ok to me... but still. There's a lot of breaks this time around, I hope it wasnt too jumpy, I did keep it roughly as the same POV (alpha's) to reduce confusion, its just different time of the day.
> 
> And of course, I end it on a clffhanger. I just had to, yeah? I planned to, from the start, the very start anyways, so deal with it. And err... if there's any one here that actually LIKED Gold... sorry. Buuuuuuuut this was planned from the very start, too. tbh if there's anyone here that LIKED any of my characters... Alpha, Three, Gold.... errrrr. Sorry, yeah? Ahahahahah.... *laughs nervously*
> 
> As an fyi, I was partially inspired by the scene of 'Order 66' from star wars for the whole betrayal ascept. Eh. I actually like 'anakin' as a character. 
> 
> Well, as always, feedback and kudos are loved and appreciated, I'll reply to every comment I can.
> 
> Oook, an edit. Erm. You know what said about a long break? OK yea. It got a tad longer, causssse... Reasons. I swear I'll get back here asap yeah? Buuuut legit, expect a month pt two before I am. I'm not sure. Right right, what I'm busy with I'm going going to say yet, buuuut yeah. It suddenly hit me. So yeah. Gimme a bit guys and gals, I'll be back. 
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 3: A life in the depths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.

_‘Now, we have a little chat.’_

She was afraid, afraid of what would happen now. She wasn’t in control of the situation, she was totally at the mercy of the inklings. An age old enemy, one that she had no intention of ever trusting. Whatever game they planned to play, she would play along, if only to get their assistance and information.

_‘Come on! Let's have fun~ We can totally play some Salmon run! Tako-san, wanna play? Wanna play? Wanna play?’_

She was confused, confused how lightly the inklings could take everything. Serious one moment, lax the next. Battles and wars were mere games, entertainment options to relieve stress. It was never that to them. Life or death, that was what it had been. It sounded so distant, so far away now.

_‘Alpha...? Hey, erm, are you alright’_

She was nostalgic, nostalgic in the memories of the past tying into the present. Once enemies were now friends. Hatred and conditioning torn away by the light of truth. She was cared for, loved for. There was concern for her well being outside of combat functionally. She saw the past, and the present.

_‘She’s back! She’s back!! Ahhhh…!’_

She was jealous, jealous that her attention was stolen away. She shouldn’t be, of course, but by then everything had changed. The joy, the smile, the relief; they weren’t for her. She wanted them to be. She couldn’t look them straight without losing herself, what was once cold and distant now was warmed and yearned to be closer. Emotion ran through her, but it was never to be, it couldn’t be. She was jealous that it couldn’t never be. But perhaps that was for the best.

* * *

A beep sound through the room, cold and robotic before it gave way to the constant bubbles that filled the little enclave with their hissing and popping once more.

“Memory scan 90% completed.” A monotone voice ran out, blandly stating the facts, though perhaps a tad unnecessarily, given the giant screen that lit up the room displaying the same information.

‘STATUS. VAULT 17-A, PENDING. VAULT 17-B, PHRASE 1, MEMORY SCAN 90% COMPLETE’ The screen read, before the screen flickered slightly and the number jumped to ‘91%’.

The bubbling noise filled the room. Numerous vaults of greenish liquid filled the room, though only 2 had their interiors obscured by the thick wall of bubbles.

The number on the screen jumped to ‘92%’ as an exhale sounded through the air, thin and raspy.

“Oh how I’ve forgotten the time these things take… ridiculous, simply ridiculous…” A voice ran out, its owner hidden in the darkness beyond the edge of which the light from the screen could penetrate.

“<Commuting reply>…Patience is required. Soon subject <Accessing data> 10,008 will be launched.” A series of words and phrases ran out, sound devoid of life as the data was spit out matter of factly.

“Oh come on, don’t nit-pick at everything! Can’t we just use 17-A or something? I want to watch some action already!” The first spoke up again, and if not for the matter of fact at hand, would sound perfectly normal. Yet it was no normal subject, nothing even imaginable by anyone of the residents of the surface.

“<Accessing data>. Negative. Vault group 17 must be deployed together for successful test.” The binary device computed the sentence, and executed the speech function, explaining the same topic once more. It was learning, it was always learning. And now, having detected the conversation patterns over the last 30 minutes, it grew to yet another level of artificial intelligence.

“<Commuting data>… Might I suggest a change in activity. Violence can be conducted in the SPAWN rooms.”

There was a pause in the room, apart from the bubbles popping as they flowed through the liquid in the vaults. Then creaking, and scuffling of cloth as a figure rose from the darkness.

“…That’s… new of you… but not unwelcome. Yes, I could certainly use some time killers, and whacking a couple of body bags around is sure to kill time.” Platinum breathed, limbs moving to stretch out kinks in his body.

“Acknowledged. <Sending parameters> SPAWN room output computed.”

“Much obliged, my friend. I’ll be off to smash some faces in then. Ah and if I’m not back in time, I’ll like to go with a girl this time, heck, can’t say I remember much about the guy anyways…” And with these parting words, Platinum was gone, down the hallway.

Without any sentience life conscious in the vicinity, the room plagued into silence now. Cold dead and unseeing ‘eyes’ stared forwards, at the 2 bubbling vaults of green liquid. A beep sounded in the silence. The screen flickered to 100%. The machine hummed, and sent the signal to begin the next phrase without delay.

“Request acknowledged. Subject 10,008 will be a ‘girl’. Beginning transfer of 17-A into 17-B.” The eerie robotic voice ran out, speaking to no one. The process had already started.

Vault 17-A begin vibrating, shaking in its position, as a whirling, whining sound soon came from it. The bubbles swirled, along with the green liquid inside. They went round and round, faster and faster, spinning about the cylinder’s axis. The liquid changed colour, streaks of purple snaking into the lime green of the liquid. The bubbles twirled faster. The liquid was vicious now, thick and blending together in a blend of colour.

As with all thing calculated, the process was over without a hitch. Vault 17-A now held in it the transformed liquid, a thick sludge like substance, now dark sicky green. With a gurgle, the liquid now began draining from the vault, and through a series of tubes, would be linked up to its neighbour; that of vault 17-B.

“<Accessing data> Memory scan complete. Beginning cleansing procedure. Prepare sanitization.” The same monotone voice ran out emotionless through the room, receiving the checkpoints that the blending process was done. A beep sounded again, announcing the new phrase to an empty room.

‘STATUS. VAULT 17-A, BLENDING 100% COMPLETE. VAULT 17-B, PHASE 2, CLEANSING PROCEDURE 0% COMPLETE.’ The screen read.

* * *

_Magic didn’t exst. She knew that._

_Paper. Treasure. She important treasure. It was all she had. Precious, so precious. But then gone, lost to the wnd. But in its place she gained new treasures. It took tme, sre, but she got new treasures. She found the mgic again, she rediscovered that of her childhod. The surfce. Where all dreams come true. All the promises ever made would come true. Promises. A promised land of freedom. That was where magi was._

_"Three. Wht be your name?"_

_Name. What was her name? A scrap of a sentence blew by, ruffling her thoughts and fading as fast as it appeared. Ngyes. Veemo. Lve. Se felt this way, this way, this way, this way, this way towards someone. Somone. Some one. Special, they were speial. She hd hurt them. she had hurt thm. Hurt them. hurt them. pain. Bad. Hurt them. Did she? She?_

_“Sister! Where are you? Sister!”_

_Sister? A dark alley, pipes and grease. Her sister had been taken. Her? Sister had been taken. Had to find her. It was dangerous. It was dangeros. Had to find sister. Sister. They were everwhere. All over the place. Around and surrounded. They took sister, and they took he. He? _

_“Sister! Wha have you done to her?”_

_Anger. Rage. Fear. Sister was there, but was not. Sster was not there. Sat in the chair, different. Strange colour. Eyes wrong. Wrong. Colour wrong. Different. Sister. He struggled to be free, to hold sister once mre. To escape this place. Cannot. Cannot. Stuck. Sister. Sister. What had they done o you?_

_Ded fish. Ripped. Fesh. Crush. Defeish. Dead fish. Saltly. _

_Gren. Buubes. Stge. Hd. Cnt. Not. Palse. hel. h. Sis._

_He? Her. Her. Her. He? Her. She was Alpha-san-ta. Operative to Agent force. No. Rina-hime of Secret service to the DJ. No. koTa-san of Three. Three good. Name? Three. Three is Three. Who? Yellw. Ylloew. Yllow. Werd. Weird. Wd. _

_Three magic. Magic. Magi. Ya. Freedm. Knowledge. Weni. Weni. Ya. Kire. Three. Ngyes. Ya. Weni. Kire. Magic. Ya. Weni. Marei. Ong. Songs. Louder. Loud. Loder. Sing. Sing. Tune. Lourder! Juri yu mirekerason. Louder! Ya weni marei mirekyarahire. Juri yu mirekerason._

A scream pierced through her head, and the octoling woke on the platform.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write more. But somehow, I felt as though the chapter was already very cramped? So I didn't.
> 
> Its been too long since I wrote long authors notes, so I'm stuck. Eh. If anything, Sorry for the like, 2 months long hiatus? Not quite sure about update timings for this fic, and whether or not it'll drop back into a hiatus again... but ah well. Might as well write some stuff i feel like writing.
> 
> Though sorry for the very flashback heavy chapter. And the gibberish. and the repeated words. but I thought It'll look good. but projecting disjointed thoughts are really hard.
> 
> Feedback is appreciated. I'll reply to every comment when I'm free. (Which I really am quite free, given the current stay home and all that good shit.)
> 
> Edit. Whoops! I almost forgot my signing off phrase! Damn, its been too long ahaha...
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay fresh!


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